Toxic Love
by Temptress-Kitten17
Summary: After having such phenomenally bad luck in love, Serena has pretty much given up on ever finding Mr. Right. This proves to be quite the problem when casanova Darien Shields falls for the blonde temptress and is convinced that she is 'the one'.
1. Prologue

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: R

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

**Prologue  
**  
" I can't believe you're making me go to this party." Serena complained. She flopped down onto her bed, wearing only her pink bra and panties. Her cousin Mina was going through Serena's closet in a quest for the perfect party outfit.

" Oh quit complaining Sere! You need to get out of the house tonight! We're in college now! We're young, attractive and now we're FINALLY old enough to attend Andy's parties, so we're going!"

Andrew was Mina's cool older brother. He was two years older than the girls; which hadn't become a problem until he had turned nineteen and started throwing lots of parties in his apartment. Parties full of hot, single college men that were more into one night stands than long term relationships. Serena and Mina had been excluded from all those parties until this year! This year Serena and Mina were nineteen years old and Andrew no longer had an excuse as to why they couldn't attend. They were now old enough to drink and Andrew couldn't protect them from the real world anymore.

" But I don't CARE if we're old enough! Why can't we just go to a night club instead? We can pick up hot guys and we'll be able to do it without your overprotective brother watching our every move!" Serena made a face at the mess Mina was making as she practically emptied out the entire contents of Serena's closet. " And furthermore, you are making a mess of my room!"

There had once been a time where Serena would not have cared so much. As a child, her room had never stayed clean for very long. But soon after her sixteenth birthday she'd become a neat freak like her mother. Well, sort of; Serena wasn't obsessed with dusting and washing everything from the walls to the container that held her pencils, however she did like to be organized. And now Mina was transforming her organized closet into a chaotic mess!

" Andy'll be too busy with his girlfriend Reika to even instill a twinge of fear into the hearts of all those hot, older guys we'll be seducing! Come on...it'll be fun!"

" Right. Fun. " Serena sighed. " You're gonna drag me over there so that you can flirt with Andy's friends and meanwhile, I'm stuck covering for you and making sure that YOU don't get caught. Because if your brother ever found out, he'd tell your mother and then your so-called innocent virgin image would be proven false. Then she and your dad would take away your freedom. No car, no money, no apartment and definitely no more leaving the mansion without supervision. And then I'LL have to suffer as well because my parents will do the same to me to ensure that I don't end up doing the same things you did. You know how important a good image is to our family."

Mina nodded in agreement. " Exactly! And that is why we can NEVER let anybody find out that the daughters of the most respected and not to mention influential couples in the entire city of Vancouver..."

" ...Are the most tempting and seductive playgirls that the entire college community known as Starcrest Falls has ever had!" Serena finished for her. " I'll go to the damn party Mina, but there is no way in hell that I'll play the good girl all night! We'll just have to cross our fingers and make sure Andrew's too occupied with Reika to notice us making the moves on his friends."

" Tell me again why I have to be at this party TONIGHT of all nights?" twenty one year old Darien Shields asked as he cleaned the large apartment he shared with his best friend from high school.

" You can always go to the night clubs tomorrow Dare! But tonight I need your help in keeping this party controlled okay? I promised Reika that I'd throw her this party when she returned from her trip to New York City and I'm not backing out now!"

Reika Sullivan came from a wealthy family who owned a law firm in New York. She was the only one in her family to break away from practicing law and instead had moved to Canada to study anything and everything the small community college in Starcrest had to offer her. For one thing, it was less expensive to go to school here and she had her independance now; something she would never have if she remained in New York with her family. They adored her because she was their youngest child and only daughter. Her father would never hesitate to give her money and her mother wanted to shield Reika from the real world. Reika could have easily become a spoiled rich girl but she chose to make it on her own and rarely touched her trust fund other than to pay for her tuition. She'd found a part time job as a teacher's assistant in the science department at the college. Shortly after arriving at the college she'd met Andrew and they'd been dating ever since.

" She only went away for a few weeks to spend time with her family. Man, you're completely whipped if she's got you pining for her like a love-sick puppy!" Darien unplugged the table lamps and wrapped up the cords before moving them into the hall closet where they would not get broken by accident.

" I am not whipped! You just don't realize what you're missing out on because you refuse to ever fall in love again just because of one girl back in high school who turned you down!" Andrew's eyes suddenly widened in shock at what he'd just said. Hurt flashed momentarily in Darien's ocean blue eyes and then it was gone. " Oh my god! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say that." Andrew tried to appologize but Darien cut him off and pretended to be unaffected. " It's okay Drew! I am completely over her now! It's been YEARS since Saori Walker and I broke up and I'm kinda glad that we did. I'm not ready to be tied down yet anyway! Right now, the only thing I need a woman for is to warm my bed at night! And I can get that WITHOUT having to be in a relationship!"

Darien wasn't the best liar when it came to discussing his feelings about Saori, his first and only love. He'd made love to her back in his senior year of high school and had thought that she'd loved him too. But then he'd learned the truth. Saori had only gone out with him to make her ex-boyfriend Kobi Phillips jealous. Once Kobi had begged her to take him back, Saori dumped Darien and shortly after graduation she and Kobi were engaged. The rejection had hurt and since that night, Darien had closed off his heart to every woman except his half sister and his cousin Rachel. He would use women for sex and leave them before they could hurt him like Saori had. No woman would ever trap HIM in a relationship and then break his heart ever again! Not if he could help it.

Meanwhile, a good twenty minute drive away, Serena Tsukino dressed for her cousin's party with every intent to seduce at least one of Andrew's friends before the night was over.


	2. New Prologue

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

Author's note: If you are under the age of eighteen then you are reading this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for what happens if your parents catch you reading this or if the content in my story corrupts your innocent minds. You have been warned.

For all intents and purposes that I cannot even begin to explain to you all, I have decided to rewrite the novel a bit so that this whole love affair takes place over several months in order to make it both more believable and all the more devastating. Also, I have aged the characters a bit so things are REALLY going to change a lot. This will hopefully give you all something to read without me really having to work too hard on writing the chapters. Why change an already great story, you ask? Well, for one thing I have grown up considerably since I first wrote this at the age of eighteen and so I've realized that my story isn't as of yet realistic. Hate to break it to all of you hopeless romantics out there, but you're going to end up kissing a LOT of frogs before you find your prince charming, and even then you'll have problems to deal with. The course to true love never does run smoothly, I've discovered. Yes, it sucks; welcome to adulthood. Another reason for the total rewrite is that now I am in Creative Writing and I have become very critical of my work; even more that before. So I am warning you all now that if you want to keep the old story (even though it is unfinished) for whatever reason, you would be wise to copy and paste it to a word document before it is irreversibly changed forever. By the way, if you want the prologue as well, then go to my website. Just click on the link on my page and go from there. Please do not flame me for the rewrite, I'm trying to IMPROVE the story, not completely change the plot so that it becomes unrecognizable. Just read the new chapters and you'll see that change can be a GOOD thing.

Prologue:

"I can't believe you're making me go to this party." Serena complained. She flopped down onto her bed, wearing only her pink bra and panties. Her cousin Mina was going through Serena's closet in a quest for the perfect party outfit.

"And I can't believe you DON'T want to go! For crying out loud Serena, it is NEW YEAR'S EVE and there is no way we are going to celebrate the new year at home!" Mina eyed a sexy black halter dress that Serena had stashed away at the farthest end of her closet. She tossed it to Serena to try on. "Besides, this year we're finally old enough to attend my brother's New Year's Eve bash instead of just hearing about it for the next few days."

Serena glanced at the black dress before unceremoniously hanging it back up in her closet again. Mina pouted. "Come ON, Sere! You haven't even worn half of these outfits yet and what better place to flaunt them than at the most anticipated party of the year? EVERYBODY is always talking about how great Andrew's parties are and I wanna go!"

Serena sighed. "Of course YOU want to go, Mina. I know what you're thinking, okay? You and I both know that this isn't about the party, it's about playing cat and mouse with your crush Kevin tonight; just like you do EVERY night there's a party. Why don't you just have sex with him and get it over with?"

"You just don't understand the game, Sere. It's not about sleeping with him; it's about making HIM want ME. If it was only about the sex I would have done him months ago, no problem. You know how easy it is to get a guy to say yes to THAT question."

"So then, what is it you want, A RELATIONSHIP?" Serena rolled her eyes. What a joke that notion would be. To expect commitment from a man was, in Serena's opinion, about as fruitless as hitting one's head continuously against a brick wall; all you ended up getting was a splitting headache.

"Would that really be such a bad thing?" Mina asked innocently.

Serena simply shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever, it doesn't matter what I think, Mina, because you'll just do what you want anyway."

"How about this one?" Mina held up a spaghetti strap red cocktail dress.

Serena shook her head. "No, I don't think I'll be wearing THAT tonight. You know, Mina, your brother would have a fit if he knew we wore stuff like this."

"I know; he's WAY too overprotective sometimes. Guess these are out of the question too then, huh?" she was holding out a black bustier and a pink lace shirt that left little to the imagination.

Serena made a face. "Um, yeah, but only because those are the clothes I save for booty calls. I don't actually wear them outside of the bedroom."

Mina hung them back up in the closet quickly. "Oh," she said.

Serena sighed. "Mina, just stop trying to find something for me to wear tonight, okay? If you want to go so badly, then go by yourself! I'll just be in the way of your flirting with Kevin so it's better if I just…"

"Don't say it! Serena, I'm serious about this! You NEED to get out of the house tonight! All you've done since finals ended a couple weeks ago is sit around and sulk and it is NOT healthy for you. Now you are going to get dressed up into something sexy and you are going to have fun tonight at the party and I won't take 'no' for an answer. And who knows, maybe you'll meet a cute guy and…"

Serena glared at her cousin. "If the rest of that sentence ends with me falling in love with him I swear I will throw something at you."

"It couldn't hurt, ya know," Mina countered. "So you've had a bit of bad luck when it comes to men, big deal! We all have to kiss a few frogs before we find a prince."

"I wouldn't call four guys in two years 'a few' Mina. Let's face it; I'm cursed." Serena went through her closet, pulling out random outfits and sexy tops and tossing them onto her bed.

"You are not cursed Serena, you just haven't found the right guy yet."

"That's because he doesn't exist. Face it Mina, the only thing guys want from me is sex. And maybe they're right to expect it; after all, it's my fault for being such an easy lay."

"Sere, you know that's not true."

"Isn't it? Because the last guy I slept with didn't even have to ask me out. I just hopped into bed with him the second he suggested it. And let's see, before that there was the two night stand guy, then the guy I had just met but was incredibly attracted to. And before that there was…" She stopped, refusing to go THERE again. Hurt momentarily flashed through her crystal blue eyes and Mina knew that it would be better to just change the subject.

"So, which outfit do you want to wear tonight to the party?" she asked.

Serena shrugged. What the hell? She was young, attractive and sexy as hell! Why should she spend all her time moping over some jerk that was too busy thinking with his prick to see how great she was? _'Well, maybe tonight I'll play the game THEIR way.'_ Serena thought to herself as she went through her outfits, selecting and rejecting certain pieces. _'I'll find a gorgeous guy, seduce him and then I'll be the one to decide if HE'S worth a second go instead of the other way around.'_

"Tell me again why you're using my apartment to host your party TONIGHT of all nights?" twenty four year old Darien Shields asked as he cleaned his spacious penthouse apartment.

"Because you lost the bet last week and owe me a favor, remember?" Andrew said as he poured the contents of a very large chip bag into an equally large plastic bowl.

"It was a stupid bet, Drew. It doesn't give you the right to take over my place in order to host your party.

"Then why did you agree to it if it was such a stupid bet?"

Darien sighed in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew he could have won the bet if only she hadn't distracted him. But she had, and Andrew had beaten him at pool for the third time in a row despite Darien's insistence that he couldn't possibly win against him on the last round. "Care to make a wager on that?" Andrew had asked, and because Darien was just a little too cocky for his own good, he had agreed; big mistake.

Just as he was about to sink the last ball into the corner pocket, that gorgeous blonde caught his eye again. She was out on the dance floor wearing a black mini dress that flaunted her generous curves, and her hips were moving so sinuously that Darien could scarcely concentrate on the game. He shot the ball from the wrong angle in his distraction and lost the game to Andrew of all people; again. To add insult to injury, the gorgeous blonde was nowhere to be found; having left the club while Andrew was collecting the money Darien now owed him. "Oh, and by the way. I'll be borrowing your apartment for one of my parties real soon." Andrew had said while Darien was still watching in the direction where that girl had been shaking her ass only moments before.

"I never thought you would actually win against me. I mean, come on Drew! Usually you totally suck at the game and I figured that there was no way you could actually beat me three times. And you still can't."

"But, I did. That's why we're here now setting your place up for the biggest party of the year."

"No, you didn't beat me Drew. You just got lucky because I was too distracted by the hot piece of ass on the dance floor that night."

"You just don't want to admit that I was able to beat you at YOUR game, Dare. But it doesn't really matter since I still get to use your place to host my party!"

"Just stay away from my bedroom, and make sure that your guests stay away as well." Darien warned.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't worry, Reika and I will be perfectly comfortable in the hall closet."

"That better be a joke Andrew."

Andrew smirked. "Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. Either way, I still technically own your place for the next twenty four hours. That's plenty of time for me and Reika to christen every OTHER room in your place." He winced slightly as Darien punched him in the arm.

"Thanks a lot for reminding me AGAIN about what I WON'T be doing tonight." Darien unplugged the table lamps and wrapped up the cords before moving them into the hall closet where they would not get broken by accident._ 'Too bad I couldn't prevent OTHER things of mine from getting broken.'_ Darien thought to himself.

"Dude, just let it go already! SHE obviously got over it; why else would she have gotten married last month? She moved on, so why can't you do the same?"

Darien sighed. "I really thought she was the one I was meant to be with Drew. I mean, we were friends for so long and then we were so much more than that. She was like my other half and I always thought we would end up together in the end."

Andrew looked at his best friend incredulously. "Dare, she CHEATED on you with one of your friends. How could you possibly have thought that you two had a future together?"

"Well, we sure as hell don't have a future NOW, do we? Not while she's married to my ex-best friend anyway. I can't BELIEVE her! I mean, here I was, willing to forgive her and take her back and she had the nerve to tell me that she was getting married that very week to the guy she cheated on me with!"

Andrew nodded. Having already heard this story a million times over the course of the last few months, he was getting a little tired of it. "You know what you need, Darien? You need to get over Saori! You broke up two years ago and since then all you have done is pine for her like a lovesick puppy dog. Oh sure, you brought a few girls home for some fun, but that's been the extent of your efforts to move on."

"That's easy for you to say, Drew. You have a girlfriend who's crazy about you and would never in a million years leave you for your best friend."

"And that's exactly my point, Darien! You need to realize that there are plenty of other women out there. And who knows, maybe you'll find the right one at the party tonight."

Darien laughed bitterly. "Right, like the woman of my dreams is really going to show up tonight at my front door and make me forget all about Saori and her new husband. That's a good one Andrew. I swear, sometimes you are way too optimistic for your own good."

Meanwhile, a good ten minute drive away, Serena Tsukino dressed for her cousin's party with every intention of seducing at least one of Andrew's friends before the night was over.

Temptress Kitten: I'm trying a new format for my paragraphs since my writing prof pointed out that I was doing it all wrong. I hope this is more professional looking now. So, what do you think? Is it better than the original prologue or does it need some more work? As you already know, I have no problem rewriting a chapter so if it's lacking something TELL ME so that I can fix it ok? And don't JUST tell me what it lacks; I want to know what parts you like about it, what my strengths are and what you want to see more of! Also, if there was something in the original prologue that you really liked but didn't get to see in this version, let me know. I may have overlooked something or it may have been intentional, however I still value your opinion. I guess that's all I really have to say for now. Till next time…

Temptress Kitten 17


	3. Chapter 1

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

Chapter 1: The Party

The girls arrived at Andrew's party around eight that night. Andrew barely even noticed that they had arrived; which suited Serena and Mina just fine. If he had been the one to answer the door instead of the tall blond guy with icy blue eyes, he would have immediately sent the girls home to change their clothes. Mina was wearing a low cut gold top. There was a heart shaped ring in the center of her chest that kept the top and bottom halves of the silky shirt together and the only thing keeping it up were the thin ribbon-like straps around her shoulders. Her black skirt hugged her curves and there were slits at the sides that came almost up to her hip. On her feet were strappy gold high heels. Serena had chosen a silver halter top with a VERY low back. She wore a black skirt like Mina's. On her feet were simple black high heels. Her light blond hair fell loosely past her shoulders.

" Welcome to the party ladies!" he said, smiling at the two young women standing in the entrance to his friend's apartment. Somehow the girls looked familiar. Perhaps Darien had 'dated' one of them.

" Thanks...uh..." Serena paused. She'd seen this guy before but she didn't remember his name or where she'd met him.

" Jared Anderson. But all my friends call me Jed!" he finished for her.

Serena suddenly smacked her forehead. " Of course! Now I remember! You're Amy Anderson's older brother aren't you? We met briefly when I was over at her place for a study session."

" Sorry Serena, I didn't recognize you. You're dressed like a completely different person! I'm kicking myself now for not asking you out when I was still single."

" Um...sorry to interrupt this reunion but I REALLY want to get to the party now! Sere, let's go!" Mina didn't even wait for an answer. She grabbed Serena's arm and pulled her into the living room. Serena waved to Jed and then she disappeared into the crowd.

Jared watched the blond goddesses disappear, not realizing that somebody else was watching him. He soon figured it out when a smaller hand hit him upside the back of his head.

" OW!" he cried out in surprise. He turned around to see the angry violet eyes of his dark haired girlfriend.

" I KNEW I shouldn't have allowed you to stand here by the door and greet the guests! I can't seem to leave you alone for two seconds without you flirting with some pretty girl!" she folded her arms across her chest and glared.

" Come on Raye, don't be mad. I was only being nice cuz those girls are friends of Amy's. You know I'd never cheat on you."

" Damn straight! You know I'd shoot your dick off if you ever did."

" You know, I kinda like it when you get so possessive over me...how about we leave early. You can always talk to your cousin tomorrow." Jed suggested as he pulled his raven haired temptress closer to him. Raye giggled. " Well, as tempting as it is, I HAVE to find Darien before we leave. I have to warn him before he finds out from somebody else..."

" Tell him tomorrow." Jed said before pressing his lips to her throat.

" Okay...you win. I'll tell him tomorrow." Raye promised as Jed led her out of the building.

Darien rolled his eyes as he watched Andrew and Reika fawning over each other. It was disgusting and reminded him of the many reasons not to be in a relationship. He could be luring unsuspecting gorgeous women into his bed right now! But NO, he had to sit here and entertain Reika's best friend Anne Granger because she didn't have a date. That wouldn't have been so bad except Anne had just broken up with her boyfriend over the stupidest thing. He'd wanted to have sex with her and she wanted to remain a virgin until marriage. That by itself was enough to cross her off his list. Also, she was incredibly annoying, incredibly clingy and way too much of a prude to be any fun. Luckily she would be leaving soon. She had to be home by ten or else mommy and daddy would be mad.

" I can't believe he dumped meeeee..." Anne whined

'Oh great! I really don't want to listen to her whining anymore. I wonder how much longer I have to sit here?' Darien groaned in frustration. He wanted to tell the little puritan all the possible reasons why she'd been dumped but thought better of it. Andrew would just take her side because he was whipped by her best friend and therefore had no choice if he ever wanted Reika to sleep with him again. And that was the really confusing part! Why would Andrew stick around if Reika had made him jump through hoops for her before finally letting him see her naked? And why would he stick around AFTER he'd slept with her when he could be sleeping with a different woman every night without having to agree with her on everything and subjecting his friends to her clingy and needy girlfriends?

" Anne, do you want to go home? I could lend you my car for the night and stay here with Andrew." Reika suggested.

' THANK YOU! At least Reika has the sense to free me from Anne's company!' Anne nodded and took the car keys from Reika's hand. " Okay. But I still don't think you should be sleeping with Andrew when you're not even married. Why buy the cow if you get the milk for free?"

'Because if you're the cow Anne, your milk isn't worth waiting for! And if the cow won't give away free milk it's time to find another cow!' he thought to himself. Grinning at his own little joke that only he was aware of, Darien got up to walk Anne to the door. Not that he cared if she got to her car safely or not, he just wanted to make sure she was really leaving.

" Bye Anne!" Darien waved and shut the door behind her before breathing a sigh of relief. She was gone and now he was free to hit on women who WOULD sleep with him.

Serena was annoyed with Mina. Not that the little blond flirt could tell that her cousin was annoyed with her. Mina was standingg in the middle of the living room with more than five guys surrounding her. They were practically begging for her to pay attention to them EXCLUSIVELY and Mina was so preocupied with being the center of attention that she couldn't see the death glares Serena was sending her.

' Why did I ever agree to come here tonight? All these guys look like the commitment types and I don't do commitment. I just want to have some fun and then move on with my life! Is that such a crime?' She sighed and took another sip of her non-alcoholic ice tea. Serena didn't drink. She could jump into bed with a guy WITHOUT getting drunk first and she wanted to remember it in the morning. Besides, what if she ended up in bed with some clingy guy who would never leave her alone? No thank you! She watched her cousin shamelessly flirt with a tall guy wearing a grey t shirt that reavealed his muscular physique. Serena recognized him as Kevin Price, a guy from her acting class. Everyone knew he was interested in Mina; and Serena felt bad for him. Mina would let him think he had her and then as soon as she got bored, she'd turn him loose just like she always did.

Serena didn't condone Mina's behaviour when it came to using men. She led them to believe that she actually cared about them instead of tell them it was only a fling. Serena was always up front about such things. She always made sure that the guys knew that there was nothing more than sex between them. She didn't care for relationships anymore; she'd had one and it had ended in heart break. Why would she want to go through all that again?

She was about to leave when she spotted him by the snack table. Tall, dark hair and dark blue eyes; the man made her forget that she'd wanted to go home. She had seen him a few times at the club but he'd always been surrounded by women clamoring for his attention. But now he was alone and she could easily make her move. Serena made her way toward him, ignoring the voluptuous red head who kept telling her to back off from her man.

" I spotted him first!" she whined, still trying to push through the crowd. However, with such wide hips the poor girl couldn't get there fast enough and Serena won the prize.

" Hi. I'm Serena. I've seen you in the club a few times and I just thought I should say hi." Serena smiled innocently.

" Darien Shields. I've seen you a few times too. You caught my eye when I saw you dancing a few nights ago. You could put Britney, Shakira and Christina to shame."

" So you noticed. Thanks for the compliment by the way."

'Damn she is so hot! And those legs would probably feel so good wrapped around my waist...' Darien thought as his eyes focused on her delectable little body.

" So um...it's kinda noisy out here. Do you want to go somewhere a little more private so that we can talk?" Darien asked, hoping she'd say yes.

" Yeah. Let's go somewhere and talk. I've wanted to 'talk' with you for a while now and with everybody out here, nobody will notice if we've left the party." She smiled suggestively and licked her lips. Darien's eyes darkened with desire and suddenly his denim jeans were too tight.

" Then let's go. Follow me to my room and we'll talk." Darien took her smaller hand into his and led her down the hallway toward his bedroom. He unlocked the door and opened it. After they were inside, he shut and locked the door behind them.

Back in the living room, Mina was too busy coming up with sexual inuendos to notice that Serena had even left. But after Kevin had subtly asked Mina to stay the night at his place, she finally turned around long enough to find Serena and tell her that she wouldn't be coming home. She spotted her cousin with the notorious playboy Darien Shields disappearing into what was no doubt his bedroom. Mina shook her head. Serena was about to meet her match. She turned back to Kevin.

" I don't think I have to worry about my cousin tonight. I'm all yours!"

Temptress Kitten: There is a revised version of this chapter on the next 'page' that is a lot longer and more detailed. I would love to get some feedback on it!

Thanks

Temptress Kitten 17


	4. New Chapter 1

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

Author's Note: If you are under the age of eighteen then you are reading this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for what happens if your parents catch you reading this or if the content in my story corrupts your innocent minds. You have been warned.

Again, I am warning all of you that these 'new' chapters are going to quickly replace the old ones and if you want to be able to compare them, you would be wise to copy and paste the remaining, unchanged content to a word document ASAP! Please keep in mind that these 'new' chapters are going to be the building blocks for the rest of the story. What this means is that I won't be submitting Chapters 13 and up until I have fine-tuned the rest of the story first. This gives you all the chance to read more of my work without my actually having to write an entirely new chapter. I REALLY don't have the time to do that yet because I've got classes and homework and all the other fun things that are part of being a full-time college student. So for now, all I can give you is a few more details and scenes for the already existing chapters seeing as how that's all I can fit into my busy schedule at this time.

Chapter 1: The Party

The girls arrived at Andrew's party around eight that night. Andrew barely even noticed that they had arrived; which suited Serena and Mina just fine. If he had been the one to answer the door instead of the tall blond guy with icy blue eyes, he would have immediately sent the girls home to change their clothes. Mina was wearing a low cut gold top. There was a heart shaped ring in the center of her chest that kept the top and bottom halves of the silky shirt together and the only thing keeping it up were the thin ribbon-like straps around her shoulders. Her black skirt hugged her curves and there were slits at the sides that came almost up to her hip. She wore a pair of sexy strapped, shiny gold high heels. Serena had chosen a silver halter top with a _very_ low back. She wore a black skirt like Mina's. On her feet were simple black high heels. Her light blond hair fell loosely past her shoulders.

"Welcome to the party ladies!" the blond guy said, smiling at the two young women standing in the entrance to his friend's apartment. Somehow the girls looked familiar. Perhaps Darien had 'dated' one of them.

"Jed?" Serena asked.

He looked at the prettier blonde in the silver halter warily. "Do I know you from somewhere?" He hoped that _he_ hadn't 'dated' this girl in the past. If he had, then he was in trouble for one; forgetting this girl's name, and two; for even talking to her. If his girlfriend Reianna ever found out, his balls would be black and blue by the end of the night; and not in the fun way either.

"Jared, it's _me_, Serena!"

Jed was thoughtful for a minute. Where had he heard that name before?

"Serena, Serena Tsukino. You know, your sister Amy's best friend since kindergarten. I used to come over all the time…"

Jed smacked his forehead. Duh, that's why these girls were so familiar. "Sorry Serena, I didn't recognize you. And you're Mina, right." Mina nodded. "Wow, you girls sure grew up since the last time I saw you. If I'd known that you two had turned into bona fide hotties I would have left L.A. sooner!"

Mina smirked. "Well, you certainly haven't changed a bit, Jed. I guess Rei hasn't been able to squash that Casanova part of you yet."

"Are you disappointed that I'm already taken, baby?" he teased.

"I think I'll be able to move on with my life."

"What about you, Sere. Aren't you even a little sad that Rei got me first?"

Serena giggled. "Well, I _did_ have a crush on you when I was growing up, but like Mina, I will survive."

Mina impatiently tapped her foot against the floor. "Ahem," she cleared her throat. "Look, as touching as this little reunion is, I really want to get to the _party_ part of the evening; NOW." Jared nodded. "Yes, of course, but first I'm afraid I have to check the guest list."

"WHAT? But you already know who we are!"

"Sorry ladies, but I am under strict orders from Andrew and the guy who lives here not to let anyone in unless their names are on the list."

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Mina sighed in frustration as Jed fumbled with a long list and pulled out a pen from the breast pocket of his black blazer. "Now, state your names again please."

"Mina AINO, Andrew's SISTER. Come ON Jed, you know who we are; let us pass already. What are you, the bouncer?"

"Yeah, come on Jed." Serena purred, using the same tone she used with the club bouncers when they wouldn't let her and Mina pass all those times. For some reason, the bouncers never believed that the driver's license IDs they held were real and that she and Mina really WERE almost twenty.

Mina quickly caught on to what Serena was doing and joined in on the act. "Yeah, come on. You know Andrew won't mind if you let US pass without the security check."

Jed sighed and placed the list back into his pocket. "Alright, I give up. Go join the party, but if anyone asks…"

"We'll tell them you gave us a hard time with the security check!" Mina finished, grabbing Serena's arm and leading her toward the living room.

"Thanks Jed, we owe you one!" Serena winked and blew a kiss toward him flirtatiously before disappearing into the crowd of party guests.

Jared watched the blond goddesses disappear, not realizing that somebody else was watching him. He soon figured it out when a smaller hand hit him upside the back of his head.

"OW!" he cried out in surprise. He turned around to see the angry violet eyes of his dark haired girlfriend. "I KNEW I shouldn't have allowed you to stand here by the door and greet the guests! I can't seem to leave you alone for two seconds without you flirting with some pretty girl!" She folded her arms across her chest and glared.

"Come on Rei, don't be mad. It was completely innocent and THEY started it. Besides, you know I would never cheat on you."

"Damn straight! You know I'd shoot your dick off if you ever did."

"You know, I kinda like it when you get so possessive over me...how about we take a little break from the party and go somewhere more…private." Jed suggested as he pulled his raven haired temptress closer to him.

Rei giggled. "Well, as tempting as it is, I HAVE to find Darien before we leave. I have to warn him before he finds out from somebody else..."

"Come on, you can find him later…say, in forty five minutes? You KNOW you want to." Jed said before pressing his lips to her throat.

"What about what Darien said? You're supposed to be watching for party crashers, remember?" Rei gasped, shivering as Jared's tongue found the sensitive spot below her earlobe.

"Be logical about this Rei, crashers don't show up before ten; it's like a rule or something. Jared pulled his cell phone from his pocket and looked at the tiny digital clock. And you and I have...almost two hours to kill until then."

"Are you sure Darien won't mind us leaving; especially when we promised we'd watch out for you-know-who?" Rei asked as Jared placed his hand on her lower back and led her away from the party and toward the very roomy and inviting hall closet. 'Darien really needs to install a lock on the door if he doesn't want people to 'play' in here.' Jared smiled.

"Trust me; he won't even know we left. We'll just come out in an hour or so, after I've elicited every sexy sound of immense pleasure from that hot little mouth of yours."

"Ooh, you promise?" Rei purred as Jared opened the door.

"You can pretty much count on it, baby!"

"Perfect timing; I knew that idiot and his girlfriend couldn't possibly guard the door forever." Twenty three year old Beryl Storms led the small entourage of young women into the penthouse; each of them dressed to kill in sexy stilettos that matched their dresses and Louis Vuitton handbags.

"It was almost too easy to get into this party B, like REALLY easy." A girl with white-blonde hair and eyes that nearly matched the ice-blue shade of her dress exclaimed.

The red haired girl Beryl nodded in agreement. "I know; the security in this place is so incredibly pathetic! Anyone off the street could invite themselves to the party and nobody would even notice."

"But you're not just ANYONE, B. I can't believe the nerve of him to not invite you tonight!" A girl with gold-blonde curls and amber colored eyes said. She wore a black spaghetti strap mini dress with gold accents around the bodice and the hemline of the skirt.

Beryl shrugged her bare shoulders indifferently. "Whatever, it doesn't matter that he didn't invite me. I'm here now aren't I; and now the party can REALLY begin!"

"Now remember Sere, once I spot Kevin…"

Serena rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I'll make myself scarce. Honestly, Mina, if you didn't want me to be around you tonight then why the hell did you force me to tag along?"

"We've been over this a hundred times Serena; you're here to have a good time."

"Right, because watching a bunch of couples kissing at midnight sounds SO entertaining."

"Relax, not everybody at the party is looking to start the year off with someone special. I'm sure you'll find plenty of guys who would rather just screw you once and never call you again."

"Hahahaha, that's so funny that I forgot to laugh." Serena said dryly.

"Wow, you're in a GREAT mood tonight Serena! Your enthusiasm is so contagious!"

"Well, can you really blame me, Mina? You dragged me to this party and now you're telling me that the second you spot YOUR crush, I have to somehow make myself scarce. What the hell am I supposed to do for the next five hours while you work at getting that New Year's kiss from Kevin?"

"Well, you could try to find your OWN guy to kiss tonight instead of complaining to me about how you don't want to be here."

"Right, like I'll be able to find my so called 'soul mate' right here in this room tonight. Dream on, Mina; it's never going to happen for me."

Serena spotted the expensive black leather sofa and flopped down into its softness. Whoever the guy was that owned this place, he sure had good taste. Serena couldn't believe that a guy's apartment could be so clean; or so aesthetically pleasing. The main floor, where the party was currently being held, had expensive dark hardwood flooring at the entrance and in the kitchen; which was partitioned with a half wall. The rest of the floor was covered in plush carpet in a nice wine color; which was a smart choice for someone who currently had over two hundred people, still wearing their street shoes, in his living room. To the right of the kitchen and refreshments area was a plush carpeted staircase leading to the second floor. Serena noticed the black and silver streamers that had been pulled across the entrance to the stairs to no doubt prevent people from going up there. To the left of the living room was the entranceway, the bathroom with a VERY long lineup and a hall closet that curiously had a lot of muffled noises coming from inside it. Well, it WAS a party; perhaps some amorous couple was in there making use of the space.

"It's a nice place, isn't it?" Mina commented, flopping down on the couch next to Serena.

"Any idea who the owner is?"

Mina shrugged. "Dunno, Andrew just said he was borrowing a friend's place and to go to this address. It's pretty nice, for a guy's place anyway."

"Yeah, his girlfriend must have good taste to be able to decorate like this."

"Andrew didn't mention whether a girl lives here too; you don't think that a guy could have decorating skills?"

"Not if he's straight."

Mina chuckled. "I don't know about that Sere. I'll let you know if your theory pans out after I've seen Kevin's apartment." Her eyes lit up and her painted red lips curved into a huge grin. "And speaking of Kevin, here he is!" She waved to a lean but toned guy with white-blond shoulder length hair and grey-blue eyes. He was wearing a grey blazer and had the top three buttons of his black shirt undone; and damn, Mina wasn't kidding when she said he was hot. "Kevin! Hi!" Mina called out to him, motioning for Kevin to join her on the couch.

'And that's my cue to leave.' Serena immediately rose from the very comfortable couch and made her way to the refreshments table. She cut across the dance floor, disappearing into the crowd; she was unaware that someone had been watching her moments earlier with interest.

Darien couldn't believe his luck; the gorgeous blonde from the club was here, in his apartment. He spotted her perching on his couch; she was talking to another blonde girl who looked like she could be her sister. 'Now THAT'S what I call a lucky night! Two hot sisters, one of which happens to be the girl I've been checking out for months! Maybe the fates aren't so cruel after all.' He caught the object of his desire checking out his penthouse; approval was written all over her gorgeous face. 'Oh yeah, baby, if you like what I did with the main floor, wait till you see my bedroom.' Darien was about to approach them and introduce himself when he felt someone tap him on the arm. He turned to glare at the person who had momentarily distracted him from his prey and Andrew smiled back at him.

"Hey, Dare! Thanks again for letting me use your place; I can't believe how many people showed up this time!"

"Never again, Drew. Never again will I agree to help you host a party. Do you see how many people are here? Over TWO HUNDRED! A hundred people's too many; and it looks like everybody on campus might show up!"

"Relax, Dare! I've got everything under control; I've handled parties bigger than this one before. Why don't you go mingle; find a nice girl to dance with."

Darien rolled his eyes. Sometimes Andrew could be so very dense. "Actually, I was just about to do that; but SOMEBODY distracted me! You see that hot little blonde thing on my couch? That's the girl I was telling you about earlier; the one I've been eyeing at the club for months! I was just about to ask her to dance…and maybe more, when you showed up!"

Andrew glanced over in that direction and frowned. "Hey, I'd watch what you say about my little sister if I were you, Mr. Casanova!"

"What are you talking about Andrew?"

"That 'hot little blonde thing' you're referring to happens to be my little sister Mina!"

"Are you sure you're not talking about the other blonde girl?"

"What other blonde girl? There's only one, my sister, talking to Kevin over there."

Darien glanced over toward the couch again and let out a strangled sound of frustration. The blonde girl wasn't there anymore, just the girl he had assumed was her sister. But Darien knew that Andrew luckily only had ONE sister. So then who was the blonde goddess in the silver halter top that had captured his attention and fueled his desire?

"Great, JUST PERFECT, Andrew! I take my eyes off her for one second to talk to you and she disappears into thin air!"

"Sorry, Darien. Hey, look on the bright side, she couldn't have gone too far! You'll run into her again sooner or later; I'll even get Jed and Rei to watch for her at the door for you!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Andrew's girlfriend Reika suddenly pushed her way through the mob of party guests and sidled up next to Andrew. "Andy, honey, let's dance!" she purred, her eyes conveying her true intentions to Andrew. He grinned. "Good luck with your girl, Dare! Hope you find her!" he called to his friend as Reika led him past the dancing couples and toward the closet; a very popular place tonight.

'Great, I'm going to have to go over every inch of that closet with a bottle of disinfectant tomorrow.' Darien spotted Rei and Jed sneaking out of the closet just as Reika and Andrew made their way toward it. 'What the hell? I thought I told those two to take turns watching the door?' He was about to go over and tear into them when he spotted someone else who immediately captivated his attention.

Serena was annoyed with Mina; not that the little blond flirt could tell that her cousin was annoyed with her. Mina was still perched on the couch next to Kevin, though now she was practically on his lap. Mina was so preoccupied with being the center of attention that she couldn't see the death glares Serena was sending her.

'Why did I ever agree to come here tonight? All these guys look like the commitment types and I don't do commitment. I just want to have some fun and then move on with my life! Is that such a crime?' She sighed and took another sip of her non-alcoholic ice tea. Serena didn't drink. For one thing, her mother liked alcohol a little too much and Serena did not want to be like HER. For another thing, alcohol clouded your judgment; that's why guys always tried to get girls to drink the stuff. There was no way in hell that Serena was going to intoxicate herself and have regrets the next morning. Besides, she didn't need to drink because she was already planning to seduce someone tonight. She just needed to find the right one; maybe the owner of this penthouse. Hah, fat chance of THAT happening! The guy was probably already taken or something.

Kevin and Mina were way too preoccupied with one another to notice or even CARE if Serena should happen to take the car home right now. Maybe she could just go home and start reading her textbooks for the winter semester; there were only four days left of winter break, after all. But for some reason, something was telling her to stay a little longer. Serena felt his gaze before she noticed him a few feet from her. Tall, dark hair and dark blue eyes; the man made her forget that she'd wanted to go home. She had seen him a few times at the club but he'd always been surrounded by women clamoring for his attention. But now he was alone and it was like an invisible force was pulling her toward him.

"Hi." She said once she reached him. Serena inwardly smacked herself. Couldn't she have come up with something cooler to say?

Darien couldn't believe it; his dream girl was actually here and she was talking to him. "Hello, I'm Darien Shields." And all he could come up with was to say 'Hello' and tell her his name? Darien wanted to kick himself for being so incredibly lame.

"Nice to meet you Darien, I'm Serena Tsukino." God, why couldn't she stop staring at him like an idiot? He was probably already taken anyway!

"So, do you go to Starcrest College too?" Idiot! Why did he ask about school of all things? She probably thought he was a psycho already because he couldn't stop staring at her.

"Yeah, this is going to be my second semester." He probably was already bored; why couldn't she come up with something better to say? "Isn't this place amazing? I love the décor!" And so she commented on some guy's house instead? She must sound like such an idiot.

"Thanks, it's my place!" Ugh, that sounded so…stuck up.

"Really?" Uh, DUH! He just said that he lived there and she had to be dumb enough to ask him that? Serena wanted to crawl under a rock and never show her face again.

"Yeah, my dad sublet it to me. This is his building." Oh, right. Like she didn't think he was arrogant enough already, now he had to mention he was rich too?

"Well, it's very nice. You have very good taste, and I love the furniture." She really needed to stop repeating herself.

"You know, I've seen you in the clubs a few times." Oh great, now she probably thought he was stalking her.

"Really, that's weird you should mention that because I've seen you a few times too." Now he probably thought she was stalking him.

"I saw you dancing a few times; you're really good." Correction; she now thought he was a PERVERTED stalker.

"Thanks. You wanna dance?" Finally! She couldn't believe how long it had taken her to ask him; especially since that was the whole point of chatting him up in the first place.

"Sure." Oh, THAT sure sounded like he really wanted to dance with her! Why didn't the universe just kill him already? He obviously wasn't worthy of her.

"Great!" YES! She'd gotten him to dance with her.

"Great!" YES! Life didn't totally suck anymore!

Serena moved her hips in a sinuous rhythm; causing Darien to think of other things that she could be doing that had nothing to do with dancing. She slid up against him and instinctively Darien placed his hands on her hips as they moved to the beat of the music. Soon they were so engrossed in one another that they were no longer conscious of the other guests. Serena placed her arms around him; her fingers playing with his dark hair at the nape of his neck. Darien shivered in response. Serena was amazed at how much this guy could turn her on; Darien was sliding his hands over her waist and causing tingles of pleasure to course through her. She leaned in closer, pressing her full body against his. She reveled in the sensation of her soft curves being pressed intimately to every hard inch of him and unconsciously let a slow moan pass through her lips. Darien slowly ground his lower body into hers; wanting to hear that beautiful sound again. Gods, if she was like alcohol, then he was already drunk. She nuzzled into his neck, her hot breath causing more of those delightful shivers of pleasure to course through him. He wanted her; he couldn't think of anything he wanted more in his life. Serena sighed when she felt his lips near the corner of her jaw, just below her right ear. "Do you want to go somewhere more private?" Darien whispered huskily in her ear. Serena was tingling with pleasure and her legs felt like they would turn to jelly at any moment. She merely nodded and allowed Darien to lead her toward the stairs. He pulled away the streamers and together they ascended the stairs leading to his bedroom; the promise of passion and pleasure awaiting them.

"I guess Reika and Andrew had the same idea we did." Jed nodded toward the hall closet where their somewhat disheveled friends were now emerging with very satisfied grins on their faces.

"Well, you didn't think we'd be the ONLY ones to make use of that closet did you?" Rei handed Jed his drink and raised her own glass up. "To a new year." She said, clinking her glass with his. Suddenly she felt someone bump into her from behind; nearly causing her to spill her Cosmopolitan all over her boyfriend in the process.

"Oopsie!" the blonde girl that had bumped into them giggled; she had obviously had WAY too much to drink tonight. Rei immediately spun around to face her; she recognized that giggle. The color drained from Jed's and Rei's faces as their worst fear was confirmed.

"Mimi, what the hell are you doing here? You are NOT on the guest list!" Rei stared menacingly at the girl; how could one of Beryl's girls have gotten into the party? Realization suddenly dawned on her and she redirected her anger toward her overly horny boyfriend. "Crashers don't show up before ten? It's like a rule?" She repeated, looking like she was about to spit fire at him.

"NORMAL crashers don't show up till ten! But you can kick my ass later; Rei! Right now we need to figure out who else is here."

Mimi just giggled again and nearly lost her balance; almost crashing into Rei. "hehehehehe, I'll never te-ell." She sang in a child-like tune; hiccupping at the end.

Rei wanted to throttle the girl, but Jed held her back. "Face it; she's way too shit-faced to tell us anything. We should just find Darien and Andrew and tell them that SOMEHOW, Beryl may have gotten past us at the door."

Mimi was still giggling and hiccupping. She swayed slightly before her stiletto heels caused her to lose her balance and fall hard on her ass; this caused her to break into another fit of giggles. Rei and Jed gave her a withering glance before setting off to find Andrew and Reika.

Lilah, one of the other girls in Beryl's group, spotted Mimi giggling like an idiot by the refreshments table. She had on a dark green halter dress and her dark hair was done up in a bun with loose tendrils of dark curls framing her face. "Get up you idiot, before you draw even MORE attention to yourself!" Lilah scolded as she pulled Mimi up from her spot on the floor.

"HI LILAH! I FELL DOWN!" Mimi exclaimed in a high pitched little voice. Lilah groaned. Great, this was just fan-freaking-tastic! Not only had her idiot cousin gotten herself plastered, but she was going to alert every single person at this damn party that she was there. She spotted Mimi's sister Ellie a few feet away and managed to catch her eye. Immediately, the auburn haired girl rushed over to them.

"What the hell? I could hear my sister laughing like an idiot from across the room! I thought I told you to keep her AWAY from the alcohol; ESPECIALLY tonight." Ellie took hold of her sister and half walked, half carried her toward a nearby couch.

"ME? I'M supposed to watch her? What about you, Ellie? Why can't YOU watch your own sister instead of always relying on ME to babysit her?" Lilah protested.

"Look, it doesn't matter NOW, does it? I think the best way for us to do damage control at this point is figure out if she has alerted the wrong people yet!" Ellie snapped; she handed her sister a plastic cup filled with water and helped her hold onto it as Mimi drank it.

"That's just it; those two morons Rei and Jed sort of ran into her already."

"I ran into THEM!" Mimi giggled again.

"Well, don't just stand there Lilah! Go warn Beryl that we need to get out of here; and then find the rest of the girls and tell them the same thing!" Ellie ordered, helping Mimi to stand on her feet again.

"What about you and Mimi?" Lilah may have resented being related to a vicious bitch and a vacuous airhead, but she still didn't want Mimi to die from alcohol poisoning or anything. "Who knows how much she drank before we found her!"

"Relax; I'll take care of her. Now GO!"

Lilah nodded and set off to find Beryl and the other girls before anything else went wrong tonight. In her hurry, she accidentally bumped into a blonde girl. 'Smooth move Lilah, let's bump into a few MORE people and let EVERYBODY know that we crashed the party, shall we?' She sighed in relief when she realized it was only Viola.

"Lilah," she whined. "You almost made me spill my drink! What's the rush?"

"We have to leave; NOW!"

"Huh, but why?"

"Mimi got plastered and ran into those idiots Jed and Rei and now THEY know we're here. I'm off to warn Beryl and then I need to find the other girls."

"No, it will be faster if I warn Beryl while you find Cyprine and Polly!"

"Alright then Vi, I'll meet you in the car!"

"Right!" Viola turned around and headed back to the dance floor where she had last spotted Beryl. Luckily, she hadn't moved yet.

Beryl was glaring in the direction of the staircase; furious that Darien was taking some trampy blonde up to his room instead of HER. She was about to go over there and make her presence known when a hand tapped her on the shoulder. She immediately whirled around and stared into the frantic eyes of Viola Price. "Sorry B, but we have to leave NOW!" Viola grabbed Beryl's arm and started pulling her in the opposite direction toward the exit.

"WHAT?" Beryl hissed. "I only JUST found Darien and now you're telling me that our cover has been blown already?"

Viola winced at the tone in Beryl's voice. "S-something like that." She stammered. "M-Mimi got drunk and ran into Jed and Rei."

Beryl growled in anger and frustration. "Well isn't that just perfect! Leave it to Mimi to screw things up for me! Have you alerted the other girls?"

Viola nodded. "Lilah's already found Mimi and Ellie and she's looking for Cy and Polly right now."

Beryl glanced toward the stairs once again; Darien and the blonde had already disappeared into his bedroom. "Fine; I guess we don't have a choice. Besides, who knows when Darien and that slut will come out of his room?" She turned on her heel and stormed out the door; Viola following closely behind her. 'But this ISN'T over; I will have Darien in the end. Oh yes, I won't give up THAT easily!'

"Just look at him over there, Reika! He's got his paws all over my little sister!" Andrew was glaring menacingly in the direction of Darien's best friend. Reika smiled slightly in amusement.

"Andy, she's almost twenty. When are you going to stop this overprotective big brother act of yours?"

"I'm NOT being overprotective of her; I just don't want to see my friends taking ADVANTAGE of her!"

Reika watched as Mina practically straddled herself over Kevin's thighs while kissing him passionately. "I don't think Kevin's taking advantage of her, Andy. If anything, I think your little sister is the one doing all the seducing.

Andrew's hands balled up into fists. "Well there is no way my sister is going to lose her innocence to Kevin! I think I'll go over there and put a stop to this right now!" Andrew made his way toward his sister, but was sidetracked by the appearance of Rei and Jed.

"Thank gods we found you!" Rei sighed in relief. "Where is Darien?"

Andrew shrugged. "How the hell should I know?" He eyed them suspiciously. "Why? What's wrong?"

Rei looked pointedly at Jed. "Why don't I let my BOYFRIEND tell you what happened!"

"Aw, thanks a lot Rei!" Jed pouted.

Andrew folded his arms across his chest. "Well? What's the problem?"

"Well, you see…we sort of…Um" Jed stammered. Rei rolled her eyes. "What my idiot boyfriend is TRYING to say is that Beryl MAY have gotten past us at the door without our knowledge."

"WHAT?" both Andrew and Reika asked in unison.

"I-it was totally an accident! But we really do need to warn Darien that his psycho stalker is here!"

Andrew agitatedly ran his fingers through his hair. "How could you guys be so careless?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Reika noticed Beryl and her entourage sneaking out of the party and looking thwarted. "Don't worry about it, honey. The bitch parade is leaving right now so maybe Darien doesn't have to find out right this second!" She placed her hand on his and squeezed it reassuringly. Immediately, Andrew calmed down.

"Okay, I guess no harm was done. But next time we might not be so lucky! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to pull my little sister off of Kevin before she goes too far." He cursed to himself when he realized that a different couple had occupied that spot. "Damn it! Where the hell did they go?"

Mina giggled as Kevin led her toward the exit. "I can't believe we got away before my brother spotted us!" She pulled Kevin closer to her and moved in for another hot kiss. "Mmm, you taste like candy!" she purred.

"Shouldn't you tell your cousin that you're leaving with me?"

Mina shook her head. "Nah, she already knows that I'm not coming home with HER tonight."

"Are you saying that you planned to go home with me tonight?"

Mina giggled. "Baby, I planned to go home with you the second I learned you'd be here tonight!"

"Mmm, that's an amazing coincidence because I only showed up tonight because I heard a rumor that you would be here."

"Wow! We have so much in common!" Mina purred; they started to make out again the second they got to Kevin's black Jaguar. After a few moments of bliss, Kevin pulled away from her and unlocked the passenger side door; he held the door for her as she slid into the leather seat and fastened her seatbelt. "So, tell me, is it really as big as you said?"

Kevin arched his eyebrow. "Are we talking about my apartment, or something else?" he teased.

Mina smiled flirtatiously. "Whichever you want, Baby!"

"In that case, you'll just have to find out for yourself once we get there!"

"Oooh, I like the sound of that!" She purred as the Jaguar pulled away from the curb.

Temptress Kitten: There you have it! So, what do you guys think of the new and extended first chapter of Toxic? I decided to extend the party scenes in order to fill in the blanks in my plot and also, it was a lot more entertaining for me to write. Personally, I LOVE the dance scene between Darien and Serena; but then again, I like any scene with sex or sexual undertones in it. I guess I could blame that on the fact that I'm single and my imagination is all I have! But anyway, enough about that! I'm sure all of you are very much aware of my bad luck with the opposite sex by now. So please, read and review and let me know if this chapter met your expectations or not! I don't know if I'll be able to accomplish this, but my goal is to get the second chapter rewritten and posted by NEXT Sunday. We'll see how my school week goes. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Till next time!

Temptress Kitten


	5. Chapter 2

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: R

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

Chapter 2: The Morning After

Serena awoke in a bed that was not her own. It took her a few seconds to remember that she was in Darien's room; which was located in her cousin Andrew's apartment!

'Oh no. Oh crap! Oh HELL! What have I done?' She bolted upright in bed, not even caring that the sheet covering her had fallen down to her waist. 'I have to get out of here before somebody finds out what I've done and tells Andrew!' She searched around for her clothes, panicking with every second that went by. She found her top on the floor by the bed. Her skirt had been carelessly thrown on the floor by the door and her undergarments... where were they? She couldn't leave her underwear behind! There was only one place left to look...

Darien couldn't believe it. He'd actually found a woman worth talking to again! There was something about Serena that had intrigued him weeks ago when he'd first laid eyes on her. At first he'd thought it was lust, but he'd already lured her into his bed and he STILL wanted to be with her. This was new to him since no other woman had managed to slip past his defenses like this. He wondered if she felt the same way. Maybe he could get her number and try to commit to a relationship. It had been YEARS since Saori's rejection. Perhaps it was time he moved on and opened his heart to love again? But one look at Serena's panicked expression as she began to tear apart the sheets on his bed, and Darien lost his nerve to tell her what he wanted from her now.

" What's wrong?" he asked when he noticed Serena was already half dressed.

" I can't find my underwear and I need to find all my clothing before I leave!" she replied, not even bothering to look at him.

" You can look for them tomorrow. Come back to bed Serena. You can stay the night."

Serena shook her head. " No I can't! This was a mistake!" she cried. Serena looked so panicked and afraid; which confused Darien. Why would she be so afraid? Had he done something wrong? He hoped that whatever it was, he could fix it before she disappeared out of his life. But before he could say anything more, Serena had dressed and was almost running out the door. The loud music could still be heard coming from the living room which meant that the party wasn't over yet and it would be hell trying to find Serena with all those people out there.

Darien stared at the open door in complete confusion and disbelief. 'What just happened? Since when do I ever care if a woman just leaves without saying goodbye? Usually I'm trying to shake her off of me as if she were a blood-sucking leech!' He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something different about Serena. Something that caused him to want more than just one night. But he couldn't tell her that now; not when she'd dressed and left his apartment without leaving her number.

_' This was a mistake!' _she'd said after she had woken up in his bed. He knew the words shouldn't hurt him like this but they did. She'd been perfect. Her skin had been so soft and her long blond hair was so silky. He'd breathed in her scent and become intoxicated by it. In one night she'd put him under her spell and Darien wasn't even sure he ever wanted to be released from it.

' What was I thinking sleeping with Darien at Andrew's place? I could have been caught and then everything would be ruined! Gods why did I let Darien get under my skin like that? He's toxic and I can NOT spend another night in his arms. I have to stay away from him before I repeat the past again!' Serena stood in her shower, the hot water splashing over her flushed skin as she tried to wash away his touch. The damn man had branded her skin and she hadn't even wanted him to. He'd touched every pleasureable inch of her body until she was sure she wouldn't have been able to take any more. He'd filled her so perfectly, as if he had been made solely for her. But Serena didn't believe in stuff like that. There was no such thing as ' The One.' Darien was just a one night stand and nothing more. At least that's what she'd let HIM believe. No way was she going to let her guard down and end up hurt again. No, she'd just have to forget about tonight. 'Forget about Darien! Forget everything!'

She turned off the tap and wrapped herself in a fluffy pink towel. 'You can't fall for him Serena. You don't WANT or NEED a relationship with Darien, remember? No commitments, no broken hearts. Forget him.' She lay down in her warm bed and growled in frustration. 'Curse you Darien Shields! Curse you for making me feel like this! Curse the day we ever met!'

Mina came through their front door around ten in the morning and flopped down on the sofa. It had been hell trying to get away from Kevin this morning which meant that she'd made a mistake by sleeping with him. He'd practically held her shoes and purse for ransom until she'd agreed to have breakfast with him. He was handsome, a great lover AND now she'd learned he was also a fantastic cook. It had taken every bit of determination she possessed to walk away from him without giving him her number.

" Hey Mina, where did you go last night?" Serena asked from the kitchen as she fixed herself some strawberry pancakes.

" I should be asking you the same thing Sere! I saw you disappear into one of the bedrooms with one of the hottest and most notorious playboys in this town. So spill the details girl!"

" I don't want to talk about Darien today...or ever again. In fact, if I never saw him again I would be VERY happy."

Mina looked at the huge stack of strawberry pancakes on Serena's plate. They were covered in icing sugar; which meant that this was comfort food. What had happened between her and Darien last night?

" Did he hurt you Sere? I'll kill him!"

Serena shook her head. " No, he was perfect. He even wanted me to stay the night but I couldn't because...because..."

" I don't get it. If he was perfect then why would you want to avoid him?" Mina knew HER reasons for avoiding a seemingly perfect man after she'd been in his bed. She wanted to make sure that he wanted HER badly enough to go to any lengths to find her again. She called it playing Super Hard to Get. If Kevin was truly worth losing her freedom over then he'd have to prove himself to her first. But Serena didn't agree with Mina's methods of picking out the worthy men from the unworthy ones. She'd say it was cruel and that Mina led them to believe that she actually cared about them. So if Serena wasn't playing Mina's game, then why didn't she want to see Darien again?

" Because he's perfect for me. I only spent a few hours with him and already I felt a connection to him. I NEVER feel a connection to any of my other one night stands but with Darien it was different. If I believed in soul mates I'd think that he was mine."

" Then what's the problem?"

" He was able to get past my defenses too quickly and I can't trust myself when I'm around him. I'm afraid that I'll fall in love with him and I CAN'T fall in love again. I can't afford to let my heart become vulnerable just so that he can break it. Not after what I went through when I found out about Devon's real motives for dating me. No, it's better that I just stay away until I forget about my feelings for Darien Shields."

Mina simply stared at her best friend/ cousin. Poor Serena didn't even know what love really was and already she was running from it. 'She would be so much happier if she'd just let go of the past and take her chances with Darien. Well I'm not going to let her stay away from him. She needs to be loved just like I do; she just doesn't know it yet! But maybe if I'm sneaky about it, I could give her a little push in the right direction...'

After showering and dressing in a simple yellow sun dress, Mina called her older brother on her cell phone. Matchmaking had always been one of the Aino family's favorite hobbies, even though everyone else outside of their family didn't know it. So it wouldn't take much to convince Andrew to help her in her plan to get Serena and Darien together.

" Andy! It's me, your favorite little sister!" Mina said quietly, making sure that she was alone.

" Mina, why are you so quiet?"

" Because I don't want our cousin to find out that I'm talking to you. Especially since it involves her...and your best friend."

" Oh. It's one of THOSE coversations. I'd really like to help you Mina, but Darien's miserable today. It's almost like he got his heart broken all over again. I wonder what happened..."

" Serena happened, but you didn't hear it from me. Look, I'll spare you the details but she and Darien met a few weeks ago at the...college. They didn't talk for long but I sensed the same connection between them as you and Reika have. They met again last night but Serena ran away from him because she felt the connection too. She's scared to fall in love with him but all she really needs is a push in the right direction..."

" Then we don't have a choice! We HAVE to get them together, and I think I have an idea..."


	6. Chapter 3

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: R

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

Chapter 3: Plans Backfire

"I still don't know why I let you drag me out here. I really don't care if there IS a jewellery sale today. All I wanted was to stay home and try to get Darien out of my system!"

"And you think you can do that by staying home all alone? Come on, Molly told me she's willing to sell that gorgeous gemstone jewelry we've been eyeing for half the price! I'm totally getting that citrine and topaz earring and necklace set if it kills me! You have to help make sure nobody else tries to buy it. PLEASE? Just do me this one teensy little favor and I promise I'll do anything you wanna do all week! And that includes doing your laundry, washing dishes and anything else I'd normally leave for you to clean up!"

The girls were in the shopping district located a block away from their apartment building. Mina had secretly agreed to meet Andrew outside of The Jewelry Box and hopefully Serena and Darien would decide to talk to one another. Serena sighed in frustration.

" I don't CARE! Why can't we just tell Molly to hold the stuff for us and we can pick it up later? I mean, sure that tanzanite and diamond ring with the matching heart pendant would look great on me, but where would I wear something like that? You know I don't stick around for all those fancy dinners and gatherings our parents invite us to."

" Well, I overheard Aunt Ilene and Mom saying that if we didn't attend this year's garden party, and by attend she meant we'd have to stay until all the guests left, that our allowances would be SERIOUSLY reduced. So now we HAVE to go and that means we need something fancier than our simple chokers and high heels."

Serena groaned. " Crap. I forgot all about the damn garden party. I guess I have no choice but to go shopping. I doubt my parents want to see me in a sparkly halter top and a short black skirt...again." Mina giggled at the memory. Serena had been seventeen at the time and had been caught sneaking out of the house to go to a REAL party. The look on her father's face when he saw his only daughter and his precious niece dressed up in tiny tops and short skirts with spiky high heels had been etched forever in her memory. She'd never seen him so mad before and the girls had been grounded for three weeks. Since then, Mina and Serena had vowed never to show that side of their personalities to their parents ever again.

" So we're going to see Molly then?" Mina asked, trying to hide her excitement. If Serena knew that Mina was anxious to go into The Jewelry Box, she'd know Mina had an ulterior motive. Well, she did, but since Serena's presence was required in order for this plan to be successful, she had to be discreet. Pulling Serena into the store by her arm, Mina waited for the signal from her brother.

" You know, just because I happen to be your best friend does NOT mean that you can drag me along on your quest to find the perfect gift for your girlfriend. I have a life of my own and I tend to avoid places like this. The only women I'd ever find in here would want either my love or my money. And I'm not willing to give up either one without a fight!" Darien glared menacingly at Andrew. There was no way that he would set foot in any stores catering to lovesick females. Not when he had just made up his mind that there was only one woman that he wanted to share his life with.

" Come on man, I know you're still upset about last night but I really need you to help me out here. Reika deserves nothing but the best and let's face it, my skills in the gift giving department are practically nonexistant. I learned my lesson a few years ago when I tried to buy my sister a sweater for her birthday. I thought it was cool until I saw that same sweater in an old family picture... from 1982."

Darien smirked, just trying to picture the look on Mina's face as she unwrapped her present. " Yeah, what you don't know about shopping for women could fill a library! Alright, I'll help you. But you owe me big time!"

Andrew nodded. " Of course!" How did I let Mina talk me into this? Couldn't she have come up with a better place for us to meet? Maybe a sports store or something else that's guy friendly? But no, she had to pick the jewelry shop of all places!

Andrew may have been older than Mina by a few years, but SHE was the boss. It had all started when she'd been five and had discovered that all she had to do to get what she wanted was to play up the fact that she was cute. Then she'd ask Andrew to play with her and cry to their parents if he refused. Mina ALWAYS got her way and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't stay mad at her. After all, every time HE got into trouble, Mina would talk to their parents and beg them to not yell at her big brother; even if he deserved it. He knew he owed Mina a LOT of favors; although he'd lost count of how many times she'd saved his sorry butt from getting kicked over the years.

Andrew had always been a rebel growing up. When he was eleven he and his friends had terrorized a couple girls from their school. They'd been caught dumping an entire jar of bugs into one girl's locker as a practical joke. Unfortunately the girl was the headmaster's daughter and that little stunt had nearly gotten the boys expelled. He would have been sent to military school if his little sister hadn't thrown herself down on the floor and pleaded with everyone to let him stay in school with her. Never mind the fact that in a few years he'd be moved up to the high school; Little Mina Aino had to have her big brother at her school. A few years later he'd almost been caught sneaking off to a party that he'd been forbidden to attend. Mina had covered for him and distracted their parents so he could get away. Mina had lied for him and taken some of the blame for any stupid thing he'd done in the past when she could have pulled a Serena and ratted him out. He couldn't let her down now, even if Darien made his life hell for the next two weeks.

He spotted his sister inside The Jewelry Box and pulled out his cell phone to text message her.

Mina felt her phone vibrating against her hip and pulled it out of her black beaded purse. She saw the message displayed on the small screen and quickly glanced behind her to see Andrew standing at the window.

We're here his message read.

Mina punched in the keys and sent back her reply before Serena could see it and demand to know what was going on.

Finally! It's about time you got here. I've had a hard time convincing Sere to stay here this long. Is Darien with you?

Andrew glanced over his shoulder to see Darien standing a few feet behind him with an irritated expression on his face.

He is, but he's not happy. This had better work Mina!

Mina checked to see if Serena was still behind her and she almost cried out in alarm.

Sh!t

What do you mean sh!t?

Serena finished paying for the blue tanzanite and diamond jewelry set that she had been eyeing for months.

" Come again soon Serena. I hardly ever get to see you now that I've taken over Mom's old business."

Molly had been Serena's friend since before she could remember. Their mothers were best friends and they used to take the two girls to the park to play. Molly looked so much like her mother with her shoulder length reddish-brown hair and bright blue eyes. And just like her mother, Molly Baker had chosen to run The Jewelry Box despite the fact that she had a trust fund and therefore would never need to work. Serena couldn't understand why Molly would want to work when she didn't have to, however she did understand the importance of family. Mrs Baker had loved her shop and it had broken her heart when her doctor told her she had to stop working in order to keep her stress levels down. Molly knew how important the store was to her mother so she offered to run it for her and now here she was.

" I will, Moll. And I'm sure we'll see each other at the annual garden party hosted by my mom."

" Yeah, though I'm only going for Mom's sake. Can you believe our mothers have invited practically every person from their social circle?"

Serena groaned. " Oh no, that means she's planning to play matchmaker...again."

" Yeah, probably. Good thing I'm already in a relationship, huh?"

" Yeah..." Out of the corner of her eye, Serena spotted the one person she never wanted to see again standing by the window. He hadn't noticed her yet and she'd keep it that way. " I have to go Moll. Tell Mina that I went to Trista's shop when she asks you where I went. I have to buy a dress for the dreaded party."

" Okay Serena, will do. Bye!"

" Bye!" Serena said quickly before dashing out of the store. She noticed the skanky red head from the party practically throwing herself at Darien and glared. Great! See Sere? What did I tell you? Darien has hundreds of women who are more than willing to sleep with him and he doesn't even need you. He's a player and he'd only hurt you in the end anyway. Good thing you got away when you did! She dashed across the street before Andrew or Darien could recognize her and slipped into Trista's Satin and Lace Boutique. She let out a sigh of relief once she was safely hidden from the two men outside.

" Hiding from someone?" a tall woman with short blond hair walked up to the window and looked out as if to find Serena's 'stalker.'

" Amara!" Serena exclaimed.

" Muffin Head! You're out of breath! Was someone chasing you?"

Serena shook her head and momentarily glared at Amara for using her childhood nickname. " Amara, that's my kid name! Do I look like I'm still seven years old to you?"

" Sorry Serena, but you'll always be Muffin Head to me; even if you HAVE changed your hairstyle. But seriously, why were you running? Is someone following you cuz if they are then I might have to use violence!"

" No, you certainly will NOT!" A shorter blond woman with wavy hair and aqua colored eyes stood in the doorway that led to the back room.

" Michelle, if someone's stalking Serena then I'm going to stop them. She's like a little sister to me, you know that!" Amara approached her girlfriend and placed her hands on her shoulders, gently rubbing them. Michelle sighed and closed her eyes.

" Damn it Amara, you're making it very difficult for me to disagree with you!"

" That's the whole idea!" Amara smiled.

Serena giggled. " It's okay Michelle, Amara won't have to hurt anyone because the person I was avoiding wasn't following me. In fact, I don't think he even knew I was there; so it's okay."

" Ah so we're talking about a boy are we?" Michelle winked and sat down in one of the plush chairs near the back of the store. She motioned for the other women to sit down as well. " So, tell us Serena. What's going on?"

Serena sighed. Amara and Michelle were close friends of hers and Mina's. They were quite a few years older and had once been their babysitters. Amara had automatically taken a liking to Serena and treated her like a little sister. Even after Serena had turned twelve and no longer needed a sitter, Amara continued to visit her. Even now with Amara at the age of twenty four, she and Serena were still very good friends.

Michelle had been Mina's sitter and Amara's best friend growing up. Serena had met Michelle when she had been asked to help Amara babysit her, her little brother Sammy, Mina and Andrew. Michelle had also thought of Serena as a little sister but being that Michelle was an only child, she'd often treat the younger kids like her siblings. Michelle had ALWAYS wanted a brother or sister but since her parents had divorced and never remarried, she would never get her wish. So instead she'd have to settle for being an older best friend.

" Well, I'm not going to name any names, but I met this guy last night who's a real player...or so I thought. But after we uh...we uh...y'know, well he wanted me to stay with him. Of course you know me, I would never get attatched to a guy if I can help it so I declined and went home. But now I think I might actually feel something for him and when I saw him outside I had to hide cuz I can't face him! Not now or ever cuz I WON'T get hurt again!"

Michelle and Amara nodded with understanding. " Well I think you should forget about him Sere! All men are slime and they are NOT worth your time or energy!" Amara gave her a thumbs up and winked. Michelle just shook her head.

" You're just saying that because you don't like men! But not ALL men are the scum of the earth. Maybe this guy won't break your heart like Devon did, Sere. Maybe you should talk to him and find out where you stand."

" No, Amara's right! I should just keep avoiding him until he's out of my system. No offense Michelle, but when it comes to romance you're WAY too optimistic!"

Sh!t. We have a problem!

Andrew saw the message appear on the screen just as Beryl Storms sauntered up to Darien. What the hell is SHE doing here? I thought she left town!

He glared at the red haired woman before punching in another message.

You're tellin me! The bitch is back and she's found Darien! I don't think I can get him in there with Beryl trying to latch on like a leech!

It doesn't matter anyway. Serena's left.

WHAT?

I KNOW! What are we gonna do now?

We wait for another opportunity to present itself. In the meantime, I have to get that b!tch Beryl away from Darien before she does some real damage!

Damn it! I was so sure we had them right where we wanted them! Well I'm not giving up! They WILL be forced to talk to each other. Even if I have to lock them in a room first!

Well let's not go THAT far...unless we have no other choice. In the meantime, just inform me of where Serena's going to be all week and I'll make sure that Darien just happens to run into her. Sound good?

Sounds like a plan! Latah Bro!

Bye

" Darien I missed you." Beryl purred as she grabbed his arm.

" The feeling isn't mutual Beryl, so I suggest you take a hint and stop this annoying infatuation with me before I'm forced to do something drastic."

" What are you gonna do? Send your new little bitch after me? Please Darien, that little twit couldn't possibly stop me from getting what I want!"

Darien frowned. She better not be talking about Serena! Oh God, she was there at the party! She saw us together? I hope not, otherwise Serena's in danger!

" What are you talking about Beryl? I don't have a girlfriend or a casual relationship with anyone right now!"

Beryl's green eyes narrowed angrily. " What do you take me for? I'm not stupid Darien! I saw you with that blonde bitch last night! Who is she Darien? Why did you take her back to your room, huh? You're fucking her aren't you?"

" That is none of your business Beryl!"

" The hell it isn't! You're MINE whether you like it or not and I don't like other people touching my things!"

Darien was already losing his patience with her. " Look, I'm not yours and I never will be! I suggest that you accept that and move on with your life." He turned away from her and signaled to Andrew that they were leaving NOW. " Oh, and here's a little piece of advice; lay off the collagen injections cuz they're affecting your brain!"

Beryl stood there in shock. How the hell is he able to resist my charms? I would give him everything he could ever need or want! I bet that little blonde bitch doesn't even know how to REALLY please a man! She watched Darien leave with Andrew and couldn't help but feel hurt by his rejection. What does that blonde have that I don't? Why can't Darien accept that I'M the one he's meant to be with? Well, soon enough he'll have to love me because I'm going to make his life a living hell otherwise. All I have to do is get rid of my competition..."

" I can't believe you ditched me like that Sere!" Mina scolded as they flung their shopping bags onto the plush cream colored sofa. The two cats perched on either end merely glared at the girls in annoyance before closing their eyes again.

" Oh get over it! Besides, I HAD to get away from there before Darien saw me! I still don't understand why he was outside the jewelry store; I thought most guys would avoid a place like that. Good thing that skanky red head showed up to distract him or else I would have had to talk to him.

Mina wanted to slap herself. I should have known that this plan wouldn't work! Not when Serena's as cautious as a rabbit trying to avoid the fox! Guess it's back to the drawing board! She flopped down on the sofa, once again disturbing the white male cat perched on the arm rest. Mina gave him an appologetic look. " Sorry Artemis, I didn't mean to wake you up from your cat nap!" Artemis meowed in response before stretching out and leaping gracefully onto the nearby scratching post/ cat perch. " But seriously Sere, would it have killed you to talk to the guy?I mean, you DID sleep with him and ditch him without a real explanation."

" So? I bet he does the same thing! He's Darien Shields, notorious playboy and breaker of hearts! I don't think he even cares that I don't want to see him again!"

She flopped down onto the sofa next to her cousin. The black female cat suddenly leaped off the coush with an irritated growl. Here she was minding her own business and enjoying a peaceful nap in the sun and her owners had to spoil it by sitting on the couch and blocking the sunlight.

" Sorry Luna, but they do say that if you want the best seats in the house you have to move the cats first." Serena teased. Luna simply flicked her tail in annoyance and dashed into the kitchen for a bit of a snack from her bowl. " And that suits me just fine," Serena continued from her previous discussion with Mina. " I don't need him to pine after me like some lovesick puppy anyway! So when you think about it, I did us both a favor!"

" Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?" Mina asked her calmly, taking on the role of a psychiatrist for the moment. " Because it seems to me that you aren't as happy with the decision as you'd like everyone to believe. If you were, then you wouldn't care if you saw Darien. You wouldn't keep talking about him and you wouldn't have run away like a scared little girl when faced with the possibility of him confronting you."

" So what are you, a shrink? Since when did you become so insightful?" Serena asked as she got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Luna may be on to something with the whole snack idea. I think food is just what I need right now to get my mind off a certain dark haired, not to mention incredibly hot, college man."

" I've always been insightful when it comes to love or lust! Mama should have named me Aphrodite the Goddess of Love!" Mina picked up the latest issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine from the coffee table and began to flip through it.

" Yeah right! You only know about lust Mina, I've NEVER seen you keep a guy around for very long. What do YOU know about love anyway?" Serena pulled out a container of cookie dough ice cream from the freezer and debated whether or not to grab a bowl too or just a spoon.

" I know enough about love to ensure that I find it after I'm done playing around...which is more than you can ever hope for with your attitude!" Mina snapped back, annoyed.

Yep, the spoon would do nicely without the bowl. Serena grabbed the container and pulled off the lid before digging her spoon into the ice cream. " You really know how to kick a girl when she's down." Serena said with a pout. Mina shrugged. " Sorry, but sometimes the truth hurts. You seriously gotta get over this whole Devon thing. I know he tricked you but that was a long time ago and he was just a dumb high school boy. There ARE decent guys out there ya know."

" Name one!" Serena said through a mouthful of cookie dough and ice cream.

" Darien!" Serena rolled her eyes. " Yeah, he was more than decent but he's not an option. Who else?"

" Kevin."

" And you haven't called him back because...?"

" I wanna see if he's really interested first before I even bother to call him."

" And how do you plan on getting him to call you to let you know he likes you when you didn't give him any contact info?"

" He knows I go to the same college, he'll be looking for me all week if he's interested and then I get to decide whether or not I want to be found."

" You're evil."

Mina shrugged. " I may be evil, but at least I'm giving the guy a chance before I give up on him."

" What are you saying Mina? That I should play with Darien's mind and see if he takes the bait?" Serena asked, shoveling another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

" No, I'm just saying you should give him a chance to prove himself to you before you toss him away like the rest of your casual relationship victims!"

" It was only one night!" Serena argued.

" Yes, but your attraction started the second you laid eyes on him a few weeks ago at the club...you just didn't act on it until last night." Mina reminded her.

FLASHBACK

She was dancing with several hot guys on the dance floor of the club. Well, grinded against seemed like the more appropriate word to describe it. The loud music pounded in her ears and Serena moved her body in perfect rhythm to it, closing her eyes and just enjoying the freedom. She pulled one of the guys, a blond, closer to her and pressed her back against his hard chest. Opening her eyes, she spotted her cousin Mina perched on one of the bar stools, shamelessly hitting on one of the many men who lusted after her. This was perfect! Her first Spring Break away from home and already she was having more fun than she thought was possible.

The song ended and Serena stepped away from the newest members of her ever growing string of admirers and left them with their own problems to take care of. She joined Mina at the bar and ordered a drink. " You're quite popular tonight Sere. If you're not careful, every poor guy in this club will have a hard-on before you leave!" Mina teased as she sipped her own non-alcoholic drink since she was driving tonight.

" Hey, I'm only dancing. The song's called ' Dirty.' How else am I supposed to dance? Besides, you've got a fan club of your own. Why are you complaining?"

" I'm bored! All these guys talk about is how pretty I am! Flattering, yes, but it gets old real fast!" Mina pouted.

" That's your problem, you actually talk to the guys. Mina, it's SEX not a relationship! Who cares what they think as long as you get yours at the end of the day?"

" Don't you want anything more in life than just a physical connection with a guy? Don't you want the passion or the romance too?" Mina asked.

" I learned a long time ago that you can't have it all Mina. You're living in a fairytale world if you believe in that crap about soul mates..." She paused when she spotted him at one of the tables off to the side. He had jet black hair with longer bangs that fell into his eyes, which were a deep ocean blue. To say that the man was gorgeous would have been an understatement, because words could not do his looks any justice.

" Are you even listening to me?" Mina asked, snapping Serena out of her daydreams about the man sitting not too far from her. " Huh? Sorry Mina, I was a bit distracted. What were you saying?" Serena appologized without looking away from the man that had captured her attention.

" I was asking you if you wanted to go over there to talk to that hottie over at that table instead of simply ogling him all night." Mina repeated. Serena shook her head.

" No, he's with those other women right now and he COULD already be taken. Besides, I don't think he'd even notice me...come on, I'm tired from dancing. Let's go home now!" Serena stood up and Mina followed her to the exit. Before they left, Serena glanced back at the man with the jet black hair and sighed. Yeah, he'll never want me for more than my body; just like every other guy I've met! He'll only hurt me if I let myself fall for him.

END FLASHBACK

" Yeah, I was attracted to him Mina, but I don't think it makes any difference since I'm not going to pursue him anyway! He's toxic and I'm not going to be his next victim. End of discussion!" Serena put the now half empty container of ice cream back into the freezer and tossed the spoon into the sink. She'd wash it later, when she felt like it.

" I'm gonna take a nice sensual bubble bath; if anybody calls for me, I'm not home and you don't know when I'll be back, got it?" Mina sighed and nodded in agreement.

" You couldn't have told me this last night?" Darien ran his hand through his dark hair in frustration as his cousin Raye sat on the black leather sofa across from him.

" I told you, I didn't think she would have the nerve to show up at the party uninvited." Raye tried to explain.

" Dammit Raye! This is Beryl fucking Storms we're talking about! You know, Saori's best friend and my self proclaimed stalker? Of COURSE she was going to show up! Why didn't you warn me that she was in town a few nights ago when I could have done something about it?"

" I didn't KNOW she was back a few nights ago. I only found out a few hours before the party and I was GOING to tell you but I couldn't find you! How many people did Andrew HAVE to invite anyway? I didn't even recognize half the people!" Raye shouted at him, annoyed that he was blaming HER of all people. Oh Jed is in BIG trouble tonight when I get home! He's gonna have to suck up to me big time if he ever wants me to please HIM in bed again! If I had only talked to Darien first before we left...

Darien sighed. It wasn't his cousin's fault that Beryl had found him but he was just so mad. Beryl had driven him crazy in high school and he'd only put up with her for Saori's sake, but now he hated her too so there was no need for him to be nice to the red haired witch. He'd thought he had gotten rid of her and her annoying crush on him after he'd moved away, but somehow she'd found him. She always managed to find him. " Look Raye, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just annoyed that Beryl managed to find me today and she was as clingy as ever. I only wish you had've warned me beforehand. Then I would have made sure she wasn't around when I..." He paused. Maybe I shouldn't tell her I slept with Serena. She obviously wanted to keep it a secret..

" When you what, Darien?" Raye asked.

" When I took a girl into my room, Beryl saw her. Things could get real ugly if she finds her. You know how possessive and jealous Beryl can get. I need to warn the girl before Beryl gets to her and does something drastic."

" Then you'd better find that girl before it's too late."

Darien sighed. " Believe me Raye, I can't think of anything else I'd rather do than find Serena." Oops! Did I say that out loud?

Raye blinked. Serena...I've heard that name before. Wait, wasn't she the blonde girl who was talking to Jed? " Serena? Was she a blonde girl with crystal blue eyes by any chance?"

" Yeah, do you know her?" Darien asked, hopeful. If my cousin knows her then that means I won't have to wait very long to see her again!

" No, but Jed does! His little sister is one of her best friends! If you can't find her here in town, you'll definitely see her at the party we were invited to at your dad's friend's mansion this weekend coming up!"


	7. Chapter 4

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: NC17

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

Chapter 4: We Meet Again!

( many days later)

" I really hate the idea of spending all freaking day and early evening at my parents' mansion! I can't believe my mother; forcing me to come here and play nice with everyone with the other option being that she stops giving me money. And we both know that even if I was working I wouldn't be able to afford to pay for my own college tuition. And that means I'd have no choice but to move back in with HER and the rest of my family and lose myself all over again!" Serena complained to no one in particular as she threw on the silvery white dress and slipped into her matching high heels. She was wearing her new jewelry and wore her hair in a loose updo, making her look very conservative and not the least bit like her true self. The perfect outfit for a place that could suck your soul from your body and turn you into another mindless follower of her high society parents and their friends.

" I know, but I'm sure we'll manage to meet a decent guy or two there who isn't as uptight as our families and would be willing enough to save us from sheer boredom!" Mina pulled half of her hair up into a small bun and secured it with hair pins.

" Yeah, I hope so because other than that, the only thing I have to look forward to is seeing my little brother. How sad is that?"

" Pretty sad considering the fact that when we were kids you both fought like cats and dogs. Poor Amara was always trying to break you two up so that you wouldn't kill each other." Mina chuckled as she zipped up the back of her pastel yellow sun dress.

" We did NOT try to kill each other!" Serena said defensively.

" You expect me to believe that when you'd been the one to scream ' DIE evil Hell spawn DIE!' at the top of your lungs as you lunged for his neck to strangle him?"

" Well, he started it!"

" That defense only works in six year old court Sere, and you were twelve."

" Yeah well he DID start it that day! He said I gave all those blonde jokes major credibility every time I opened my mouth to speak!"

" Hey! I'M blonde too!" Mina pointed out. " And when you think about it, so is he and my brother! Most of our family IS blonde for crying out loud!"

" I know, but Sammy was only eight back then so he didn't really think about the comment too much when he said it."

" Well now he's fifteen and can pay for his actions!"

" Mina, no! Sammy's got enough problems to deal with right now as it is! He's in our old private high school, he has to put up with my parents and now he has to be at some soul crushing party in a fancy outfit that he had absolutely no intention of wearing while my father parades him around to meet all the guests."

" That's true. Poor Sammy, he doesn't even WANT to go into politics but Uncle Ken just keeps forcing it on him."

" Good thing we both got out when we did or else we'd be doomed to a life of hosting parties and staying with the same circle of claustrophobic friends our whole lives."

" And don't forget the part where our souls are sucked from our bodies and we become mindless idiots!" Serena added.

" Right! Let us never forget that part, lest we become our parents!" Mina agreed. They both shuddered at the thought.

" So are you ready to face our version of Hell?" Serena asked as she grabbed her small silver purse and turned toward the door. Mina nodded and the girls left their apartment. They both climbed into Serena's silver covertible and drove away to meet a fate far worse than death.

" Serena honey you made it!" Ilene Tsukino exclaimed as she ran up to her daughter to hug her, a martini glass in her hand.

" Hello mother." Serena said in a falsely cheerful voice. She could hardly wait to get over to the open bar for a few drinks of her own; just as long as she didn't become a socialite alcoholic like her mother.

" And Mina, you've grown up so much since the last time I saw you!" Ilene continued with the same overly happy socialite tone she always used at these functions.

And as usual she didn't wait for a reply. " You girls just MUST meet the handsome single men I took the liberty of inviting! They're all sons or nephews or what have you of your father's friends, Serena! Oh, and I suggest you snag the dark haired Shields boy before any of the other girls get to him. I hear he is quite popular with the young ladies!"

Serena's smile faded instantly at the mention of the name Shields. Darien's here? Now? Oh I think I'll take that drink right about now! I have a feeling I'm gonna need it!

Mina gasped when she spotted Darien talking with a group of guys she had seen around campus frequently; among them was Kevin Price.

Ilene had obviously been too buzzed to notice the uncomfortable looks Serena and Mina exchanged with one another because when she spotted the guys she waved them over. " Boys! These are the girls I was telling you about! This is my lovely daughter Serena and my niece Mina! Girls, meet Darien Shields, son of Derrek Shields of Shields Financial, Jared Anderson, son of Arianne Anderson of Anderson Cosmetics, Kevin Price, son of Mackenzie Price, my husband's business partner, Nathan Montgomery son of Richard Montgomery; he owns one of the most powerful law firms in this entire country, and Zachary Jacobs Jr son of Zachary Jacobs Sr owner of the Jacobs School of Business and Technology!"

It figures that my mother would add social statuses when introducing people! She can be so shallow sometimes... Serena thought bitterly. She saw the recognition in Darien's eyes and silently pleaded with him not to say anything. Apparently he got the hint because he simply smiled and took her hand in his own to kiss it. " It is a pleasure to meet such a beautiful young woman. Perhaps we could go somewhere to talk so that I can get to know you better. I would just LOVE to know more about you Serena." he said without taking his eyes off of her.

" Well then, I am going to leave you kids alone to get better aquainted with one another! I do hope that I see you at dinner tonight... Serena, Mina." She left for the open bar. Serena and Mina simply stared after her, wishing she hadn't left them alone with the guys.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air around them as everyone stared at each other. Suddenly Zack broke the silence." So, why did you girls pretend you'd never seen us before? We all go to the same club! And why didn't we know Mrs Tsukino was talking about you in particular when she mentioned her single niece and daughter? She made you both sound like angels, not party girls." Mina placed a finger to her lips, indicating for him to keep quiet. " Because as far as she knows, we ARE innocent little angels so zip it about seeing us in the club!" Zack, Jed, and Nate winked. " Gotcha! They won't find out the truth from us. Besides, that club wouldn't be the same without you lovely ladies!" Jed teased. Just then he was smacked upside the back of his head. " Ow!" He turned around to see a furious looking Raye Hino.

" FLIRTING! How many times do I have to tell you not to flirt with other women before it gets through your thick skull?" Raye scolded. The other guys smirked at him and made whipping gestures with their hands. " Now Raye, you have to keep your voice down. We're at a nice fancy party and you have to be on your best behavior." Darien teased her. Raye stuck out her tongue at him.

" Oh THAT'S mature!" Darien commented. He then glared at Jed. " Now, I'm afraid that after this party is over I may have to kick your ass for flirting with Serena and Mina since Kevin and I have clearly marked them as ours...right Serena?" He leered suggestively at her, causing Serena to glare at him.

" I am NOT going to give you the satisfaction of answering that Darien so if you'll excuse me..." she turned and ran away from them before anyone even knew what was happening. Darien cursed when he realized that she was running away from him AGAIN!

Kevin turned to Mina after Serena had left. " Are you going to run away from ME too Mina?"

Mina shrugged. " I wasn't running away. I just wanted to see if you were really interested in me first!"

" I see. So what is your decision?"

" Well, I overheard that you were asking everybody on campus if they knew where to find me...is that true?" she asked warily.

" Yeah, but nobody would tell me anything. They just said they'd get back to me and I never heard from you!" Kevin replied, a littled bit annoyed with Mina for playing such a cruel game.

Mina smiled seductively. " Well, I was waiting for tonight to find you but now is good too..." She leaned closer to him and whispered into his ear. " Want me to make it up to you?" she purred.

Kevin's eyes lit up at her suggestion and turned to his friends. " Uh...Mina and I are gonna go somewhere and uh...talk. So I'll see you guys later!" he grabbed Mina's hand in his own and the two of them dashed off down the hill toward the pool house.

Darien stared after them wishing that he and Serena had been able to do the same thing. But she had run off and he didn't know where he'd be able to find her in this bloody maze of a mansion. Where would she go and how will I find her before she disappears into thin air again? Darien wondered as his eyes fixed on the direction she had run off in.

Raye looked at Darien and then turned to Jed. " Hey I have an idea! Jed, since you claim to know Serena, perhaps you could tell Darien where she would have run off to!"

" I don't know Raye. You see, Darien has obviously done something to piss Sere off; otherwise she wouldn't have taken off so quickly. Since I AM her best friend's big brother and therefore have to treat Sere as my little sister as well, I don't think I SHOULD say anything at all." Jed replied, wincing when Raye shot daggers at him with her angry eyes.

" I don't recall asking you to do it," Raye said in a calm and sugar sweet tone. Then her eyes hardened and she smacked him upside the head. " I was TELLING you to do it!" she shouted at him. Jed winced again. Raye was not pleasant when angry and when she told you to do something, you did it with a smile on your face or else she'd lose her temper. Normally Jed found it to be one of her sexier qualities...as long as her fiery temper was directed at somebody else and not him.

" But I don't know WHERE Serena would go! And even if I did, Darien wouldn't be able to find her or even get that close anyway!" Jed tried to explain to his girlfriend.

" What are you talking about? Why couldn't he get to her? WHERE DID SHE GO JED?" Raye demanded, causing everyone around them to flinch at the angry tone in her voice.

" What's the point Raye? Darien doesn't stand a chance with her anyway so there's no point in...OW!" he cried out when Raye smacked him again.

Serena sighed heavily. This sucks beyond the highest possible scale of suckiness! I swear the fates hate me and are out to ruin my life! Why did I have to become attracted to Darien Shields of all people? Wouldn't my mother just LOVE the idea of me dating the son of one of the most rich and powerful men in the city? Hell, she'd be planning a wedding before we even decided that we WERE going to get married. She found herself near the pool house and decided that a swim in the private pool was EXACTLY what she needed to clear her head of all thoughts having to do with Darien. She pulled the key out of her small purse and unlocked the small change room that belonged solely to her. This was her sanctuary. A small shelf with a built in drawer for all her swim suits was set in the corner of one wall with white monogrammed towels piled on top of it. At the other end was a small walk in shower with a small ledge built into the tiled wall that held her shampoo and conditioner bottles.

Serena sighed with relief once she was safely inside the room. She was free to do whatever she wanted to do without interruption until the mandatory dinner with her family and their friends. No doubt she'd still be seated at the 'kids' table' but since everyone was over the age of thirteen now, it wouldn't be too bad. Just as long as Darien goes home early and misses dinner. She didn't even bother to take the key out of the lock, assuming that nobody would be looking for her anyway. And if they saw the key, then they'd know she hadn't left the premises and therefore was still playing by the rules as far as her mother was concerned.

Mina stopped in her tracks when she spotted Serena near the pool house. Serena obviously hadn't seen her and Kevin watching her; which meant that now was the perfect time to try out Plan B. She turned to Kevin with a devious look in her eyes. " Hey Kev, do you know Darien's cell phone number by any chance?" she asked innocently.

Kevin nodded and handed her his phone with Darien's number displayed on the screen. " Yeah, why do you wanna call HIM when we were just heading toward the pool house to make up for lost time?" he sounded jealous and Mina thought that was just too amusing.

" I'm not calling for me, silly! I have YOU for THAT now. But I'm sure he would just LOVE to know that Serena just walked into her change room and she won't be able to escape him if I lock the door on her..." Mina grinned as she punched in the number keys and waited for Darien to answer his phone.

Serena had just finished changing into her white bikini when she was suddenly startled by the sound of the door shutting completely. She would have assumed it was just the wind, except she could sense another prescence in the room with her.

" Did you honestly think I wouldn't find you in here?" Darien taunted as he approached her.

Serena refused to look at him. Maybe if I don't look, I won't lose control of my emotions and do something stupid, like kiss him...and...NO! Stay strong! I have to resist him at all costs, no matter how badly I may want him! She breathed in small gasps of air when she felt him move closer, the spicy scent of his cologne surrounding her. She could feel his heated gaze on her and knew that if he touched her, it would be a losing battle. He'd win and she would lose more than just her control. If she wasn't careful, she would lose her heart and soul to this man.

" I had hoped you would have been a gentleman and allowed me to change in private, but I guess I was asking for too much from you." she replied, not bothering to hide her annoyance as she spoke.

Darien moved even closer to her until her was almost touching her. Is he trying to drive me crazy? This is even worse than if he were to touch me! He's teasing my body and making it want something that it knows it can't have! Damn him for making me need him! Serena cursed mentally as she felt the familiar feelings of desire start to stir within her. " Well, I didn't think seeing you naked would have been a problem; considering the fact that we've already slept together, remember?" Darien reminded her. His breath heated the sensitive skin behing her ear with every syllable he uttered, causing her to shudder in reaction. How could her body turn traitor to her mind so easily when he wasn't even touching her yet? It just reaffirmed her beliefs that she would lose all the control she had with him. The thought both terrified and excited her.

" Point made. Look, I know what you're thinking okay?"

Darien raised an eyebrow. " You do?"

Serena nodded. " Of course. You wanted to make sure that I didn't assume we were exclusive or anything. Don't worry, I'm not one of those overly emotional and clingy women you're probably used to sleeping with so don't think we have to see each other again. It was a fun night, and that's all it was. You were horny, I was horny, things just happened so let's just pretend that they didn't."

" And what if I don't?" Darien challenged.

Serena sighed in exasperation. " Look, I can't let you tell everyone what we did; especially since I've just found out that your father knows my parents! Do you have any idea how much trouble I would be in if my parents somehow found out about my secret night time activities? THEY think I'm still their sweet and innocent little princess! If they EVER found out that I've been VERY naughty since I've moved in with my cousin, well, they'll take away the only freedom I've ever known! So I think it's better if we don't see each other ever again if we can help it."

" And what if I WANT to see you again?" Darien whispered huskilly as his hands barely bruushed over the sides of her breasts. He didn't touch her; which was both a relief and a frustration for Serena as she felt her skin heating up. " What if I wanted more than one night with you?" She felt his hot breath on her neck and closed her eyes; willing him to press his lips to her heated skin and end her torture. She suddenly didn't care why it was a bad idea; she wanted him now.

" What would you say if I told you that all week I've dreamed of nothing else but touching you? Of tasting you?" he continued as he slowly stirred the air around her full breasts. He was so close to her and yet so far away. She wanted him, no, NEEDED him to touch her so badly that she couldn't stand it.

" If you want to touch me, why haven't you?" Serena asked.

" Is that what you want, Serena?" Darien inquired, his breath tickling her neck as he spoke.

" Is that what YOU want?" Serena countered, not wanting to answer the question.

" That's not an answer. Do you want me to touch you?" he repeated, his lips dangerously close to the spot just below her ear again.

" Darien..." she whimpered

" Do you want me to please you Serena? Do you want me?" he pulled away from her slightly as Serena tried to press her body against him. " Tell me what you want Serena. All you have to do is tell me that you want me now and I'll touch you anywhere you want, as much as you want."

She turned around to face him, her eyes dark and hazy with desire. " I...I want you." she whispered, surrendering to her own carnal need for him. That was all Darien needed to hear before he crushed his lips to hers in a searing, passionate kiss. Serena clung to him as he continued his explorations of her sweet mouth. He lifted her up easily and carried her to the wall, pressing her back against it. Serena instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and ground her lower body against his. Her mind had gone out the window some time during their heated kisses. She couldn't think of anything but his hard body pressing against her; sandwiching her between him and the wall. She ran her fingers through his dark hair, encouraging Darien to continue. Her hands slid down to his chest and began to unbutton his shirt, even though she'd prefered to simply tear it of of him. Once it was unbuttoned, she flung it across the room.

Darien's hands slid up her back and quickly found the ties of her bikini top. He pulled on them expertly, causing the top to fall to the tiled floor to be ignored until MUCH later. Tugging gently at her bottom lip with his own one last time, he began to kiss his way downward. He nibbled at her neck and traced her collar bone with his tongue. She moaned with pleasure and raked her nails over his back when he enveloped one of her hardened nipples with the velvety warmth of his mouth and began to suckle her. Serena's hand slid down his chest as if it had a mind of its own and slipped into the waistband of Darien's black pants. She felt how hard he had become and groaned at the thought of how good he'd felt inside her the first time. She wanted to feel him burried to the hilt inside her more than anything else. Her hand slipped out of his pants and her fingers began to work on getting them off instead. Darien's hand moved away from her back and grabbed hers before she could let his pants drop. " Wait, Serena. In the left pocket..."

He let out a low moan of pleasure as Serena slipped her hand into the pocket to grab the condom, lingering enough to tease his full length through the thin material before pulling her hand out and letting his pants drop, followed by his boxer shorts. Ah Darien, I'd be lying if I said you weren't the best eye candy I've ever had! Serena thought as she slipped the condom on him and helped him untie her double knotted bikini bottom ties. As the last article of clothing fell to the floor, Serena positioned her lower body to meet his and let him thrust into her. She clung to him as he began to move in and out of her slowly, going deeper each time. With each thrust, she got closer to the edge. Her breaths came out in shallow pants and she began to tighten up around him. He went faster and harder, driving into her at a maddening pace.

He couldn't seem to get enough of her. She made his mind go nearly numb to all thought, he could only drive himself into her again and again in a frenzy brought on by the incredible sensations of her hot, wet flesh tightening around him. Something about this union felt different than all of the others he'd experienced. It felt more intense, more real. He held on to Serena, buried his face in her hair, wishing he could stay inside her like this forever and never feel the harsh reality that maybe this didn't mean as much to her as it did to him. And if that was the case, would he be able to change her mind?

As the waves of hyperintense pleasure washed over her, it suddenly dawned on Serena that it wouldn't be as easy to get Darien out of her system as she'd origionally thought. Sleeping with him the first time hadn't helped. Avoiding him hadn't helped and damn it all to Hell, but THIS hadn't helped either. Her cries of ecstasy echoed through the room as Darien sent her crashing over the edge and her previous thoughts went out the window. She could only think of Darien as he thrust deep inside her once more before finally pulsing his own release. Blue met blue as they stared deeply into each other's eyes, their breathing begining to return to normal. Suddenly Serena's eyes went wide with shock at what they'd just done and fear of what that meant. Darien saw the sudden change in her and wrapped his arms around her to prevent an escape. He wasn't going to lose her again, not after he'd just decided that getting her out of his system was no longer an option for him.

" Where do you think you're going?" he asked her, tightening his grip on her as she tried to get away from him.

" Let me go." she said, avoiding his searching gaze.

" No, I can't do that right now. You're running away again and I am not going to let you run from me without having a damn good reason to do so."

" I don't have to explain myself to you. Now let me go."

" I have a better idea. How about you tell me why you keep running away when it's obvious that you want me, and THEN I'll consider letting you go."

" Because people could find out about us and I can't allow that to happen. If we're seen together then people will assume that we're TOGETHER. Is that what you want Darien? Do you really want to be stuck sleeping with me and only me when you could have a different girl every night? I know your type; Hell, I AM your type, and I know that you avoid relationships like the plague! So I'm doing us both a favor when you think about it."

" I don't see it that way. What if I want to be in your bed every night? I'm getting tired of all thhose women hanging all over me, fawning over me. I know for a fact that you tire of all those guys following you around like lovesick puppies because I've seen the way you look at them. You're right about neither of us wanting a relationship, but who said we HAVE to be in one? We could always just pretend that we're dating so that our annoying admirers back off. Your parents are happy, your friends don't suspect a thing, and you and I can have mind blowing sex anytime we want!"

" I have a better idea. How about you just keep your mouth shut about our affair and I'll allow you to screw me anytime you want. But there's only one condition, as long as we have this affair we won't be screwing anybody else, got it? I don't want to get a second rate performance from you on account of you being too tired from scewing some other bitch. Are we in agreement?" Serena asked.

Darien nodded his head in agreement. " As long as I'm having sex with you, I won't need any other girl to satisfy me."

" Good. Now how about a shower before we go back to the party?" Serena purred as he released her from his grasp.


	8. Chapter 5

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: R

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

Chapter 5: Why Did He Say That?

" Serena where have you been? Mom's been freaking out and saying you ditched us again and I've had to cover for you!" Sammy asked his sister as soon as she arrived back at the house. " And who is this guy? You know what? I don't even wanna know where you were now that I think about it."

Serena blushed and glared at Darien to let him know that if he said anything he would be in BIG trouble. " Oh Sammy, is that what you think of me? I'm not one of those girls with loose morals and I definitely don't do anything with guys I've JUST met! Darien and I are just friends and I was just showing him around the estate since he's never been here before."

Sammy rolled his eyes. " Yeah right. And I'm not studying 'biology' and 'chemistry' with Hotaru every weekend."

Darien glared at the younger boy at the mention of Hotaru's name.

" Hotaru? You don't mean Hotaru Tomoe?" he asked, praying that it wasn't her.

" Yeah, she's my girlfriend! Why do you care anyway? She's too young for you anyway!" Sammy replied, preparing to fight for his girlfriend if he had to. He didn't care how big this Darien guy was compared to him; he would fight him anyway if it meant keeping Hotaru from him.

" I asked because Hotaru happens to be my younger cousin. I don't think I like the idea of you two dating, especially if you're doing things together in her room that have nothing to do with studying."

" Oh yeah? Well maybe you should just stay out of our business or else I just might ' accidentally' tell my parents that you were sucking face with my sister in her change room near the pool house."

Serena paled. " How do you know that's what happened?" she asked, trying to act nonchalant.

" Well any idiot with half a brain could've figured that one out. You two were both MIA for the past hour and a half and you said you were giving him the grand tour which we both know is bullshit. Oh, and the huge hickey on your neck was also a dead giveaway."

Serena quickly pulled open her purse and grabbed her compact mirror. She flipped it open and had to stifle her cry of alarm when she saw the purple bruise the size of a quarter right between her neck and shoulder for all the world to see. She pulled out her concealer and powder and tried to cover it up, cursing the entire time.

Darien glared at Sammy. " If I ever see a mark like that on my cousin's body I'll kill you."

Sammy smirked. " Then I'll make sure I leave one in a spot you'll never see."

" You'll die before I let THAT happen." he glared icy daggers at the young teen before turning back to Serena. " Here, let me help you." He didn't let Serena reply before he took the concealer from her and started rubbing it into her tender skin, slowly but surely hiding the love bite. Serena was surprised at the tenderness in Darien's voice and at how gentle he was being with her. He hadn't been as gentle when they'd had their little tryst in the change room and in the shower. She didn't know how to react to this side of him, so she said nothing until her stepped away from her.

" There. Your parents will never know there ever was a hickey on your neck." Darien stated simply, hoping that Serena would be at ease once again.

" But I still know about it and because of that, I own both your asses until you eventually get caught!" Sammy reminded them, grinning triumphantly.

" Why can't you just be nice to me for once in your life?" Serena pleaded.

Sammy shook his head. " Nope, not this time." He glared at Darien and pointed a finger at him accusingly. " HE is threatening my relationship with Hotaru by being the annoyingly overprotective cousin. Now if only there were some way you and I could both benefit..."

Serena turned to Darien with a hopeful look on her face. " Please? Call a truce with my little brother so that he doesn't rat me out to Mom and Dad?"

" But she's only fourteen!" he protested.

Serena suddenly moved closer and whispered in his ear in a sulty voice. " I'll make it up to you when we get back to my place, and that's a promise."

Darien could already imagine all of the delicious things Serena could and possibly would do to his body once they were alone again. His pants felt a little tighter as he started to get hard just thinking about Serena's perfect curves and that soft and warm little mouth of hers. He suddenly became aware of his surroundings and immediately cleared his mind of all the previous thoughts he'd had about Serena. Think about something else; ANYTHING that isn't linked to Serena. Sports...okay, sports. That works...let's see, footballs, helmets, cheerleaders, Serena would look damn hot as my cheerleader...NO! New topic! Hospitals...needles, I HATE needles, doctors, Serena in a naughty nurse outfit! Dammit! Okay, think about anyone that you wouldn't ever want to sleep with. Mom...Raye...Hotaru...my sister...um...BERYL! Immediately he felt all excitement leave him as Beryl's evil image invaded his thoughts. He smiled in triumph at finally finding one thing that he could never associate with his Serena. And then he remembered why he had been desperate to find Serena in the first place.

" Oh no..." he cursed himself for becoming so distracted upon being with Serena again. Serena looked up at him, her eyes full of concern. Darien took her hand in his and led her away from the party and the guests.

" What is it Darien?" she asked once they were out of earshot from everyone else.

" Serena, do you remember seeing a red haired girl with dark green eyes at the party last weekend?" he asked her, getting straight to the point.

" Yeah, if you mean the tall skanky chick who kept screaming at me that she saw you first then I did see her."

Darien sighed. " Yeah, that would be the one. Listen, you have to stay away from her and not let her find you because she threatened to hurt you."

" Why? Is she your girlfriend or something? Is that why you want me to stay away from her? So that she doesn't find out that you're cheating on her?" Serena asked angrilly. How could she have been so stupid?

" No! She's definitely NOT my girlfriend, more like an obsessive stalker who is out to ruin my life!" He explained. Then his eyes twinkled with some unknown emotion.

" Why would you think she was my girlfriend anyway Sere? Are you JEALOUS or something?"

Serena scoffed. " Jealous? HAH! Not even! I was just making sure you were sticking to our agreement not to screw any other women while you're with me!"

" No, you're jealous! I can tell Sere because I've been around a LOT of women."

For some strange reason that comment really bothered Serena. Thinking about all those skanks that had shared Darien's bed made her want to scream...or cry. But she would NOT tell HIM that! No way! She would not let him know how right he was about her, and he WAS right. She WAS jealous and she couldn't even figure out why. Hadn't she just wanted to get him out of her system and go back to her emotionless state ( at least when it came to her feelings toward the opposite sex)?

" I am NOT jealous Darien! Can you get over yourself for like one minute and realize that I'm not ALWAYS thinking about you? You're not the center of MY universe!"

Darien gave her the wounded puppy dog eyes and placed a hand over his heart. " Ouch! You sure know how to make a guy feel wanted. Tell me, were you always such a frigid bitch or did you just wake up one day and decide to make the lives of everyone else a living Hell? I think I finally figured out why you're single and the only thing the guys DO want you for is sex. Why would any self respecting man want to get emotionally involved with you when he could have someone who was mentally STABLE?"

As soon as Darien said those words, he wished he hadn't even opened his mouth. Serena's lower lip began to quiver and her eyes began to fill with tears. It was even worse than if he had slapped her across the face. He saw the hurt in her eyes and he hated himself for causing it.

" Look, Sere I'm Sor..." she wouldn't let him finish. She COULD'NT stay there and let him finish. She could already feel the tears forming and she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She refused to show any weakness in front of him. Why give him more amunition to use against her?

" Go to Hell Darien, and stay there." She turned away from him, trying to hide her emotions from him. And then she took off, running across the yard that could have easily been made into three football fields. She did not look back at him to see if he even cared ( though secretly she really wanted to). By the time she got to the mansion the tears were falling freely from her eyes.


	9. Chapter 6

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: NC17

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon but I DO own this story since it came out of my creative little brain one day. I'm only borrowing the characters since I SUCK at coming up with names for my characters by myself. So if anybody acts out of character in here that's the reason why.

Chapter 6: Pasts Revealed

Serena sighed with relief as she sank down onto the bed in her old room. Her parents hadn't even changed anything around in here yet, which was comforting at the moment. She felt safer now that she was in her own room and far away from Darien and his venomous words. She really hadn't cared that he'd called her a frigid bitch, or that she made everyone's life a living hell; she was used to being called a bitch by now. But the comment that had sent her running to her old room to cry like a heartbroken little girl had been telling her that all men wanted from her was sex. She hadn't expected him to say something so callous to her! It reminded her of another person who had treated her like that and this time she couldn't stop herself from replaying that particular memory.

FLASHBACK

Serena felt like skipping, or singing out to the world that she had found her prince. The night before had been magical and she couldn't stop smiling. Devon had confessed his love for her and then they had made love under the stars on a picnic blanket. She couldn't have thought of anything more romantic if she tried. " I can't wait to tell Amy and Lita!" she thought out loud as she headed for her classroom. She stopped in her tracks and her heart skipped a beat when she heard a familiar voice. Devon was apparently talking to someone just around the corner from where she was. Something was telling her not to alert him to her presence just yet and so she pressed her back to the wall and listened very carefully to what Devon was saying to his group of friends. What she overheard nearly shattered her whole heart.

"HAH! Pay up guys because I just won the bet!" Devon announced smugly.

"No way." Scott said, shaking his head. " I don't believe you for a second Dev!"

"She wouldn't give in so easily to you Dude! You may have chicks practically throwing themselves at you all the time but Serena Tsukino is most definitely not one of 'em!"

"Believe it Rick because she IS and I DID win so you both better cough up the money!"

Rick shook his spiky red head. "I seriously doubt that you popped her cherry already. She's turned every guy in this damn school down!"

"She's the only seventeen year old virgin in this fucking community!" Scott added.

Devon grinned and pulled something out of his bag. " Then why would I have these?" he asked, holding up something lacy as if it were a trophy. Serena craned her neck a bit to see what it was and wanted to cry. It was the lacy panties she had worn the night before. The ones she had thought had been lost!

" Dude! You stole her panties?" Scott asked incredulously.

" More like I pocketed them after I pulled them off her myself."

" You're an inspiration to us all! How did you get her to give in?"

" Easy! I said the three words that'll make any chick spread her legs! I told her I loved her and she totally bought it!"

Serena couldn't stand it anymore. She felt the hot tears rolling down her cheeks as she ran far away from them, her heart pounding painfully in her chest. She had just given him something she could never get back and he didn't even care about her. She was just another conquest to him! How could she have been so blind and stupid?

Tears blurrred her vision as she ran through the halls, wanting to get out of the school as quickly as possible. She couldn't deal with school right now.

" Serena!" Mina called to her. Serena turned around to see her cousin running toward her.

" Sere, what's-"

Serena didn't let her finish. " Mina, I just want to get out of here! Can we just leave? Please, I really can't deal with schoolwork today!"

Mina nodded and followed Serena out to the parking lot. Since Serena was too upset to be driving, they took Mina's car. They went to their favorite spot up in the hills, just outside of town. As soon as Mina parked the card she turned to Serena.

" Okay, we're here now Sere. Tell me what happened."

Serena looked up at her cousin and then began to cry again.

Serena sat on her bed and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Mina had insisted on doing Serena's hair and make up for her, saying that she'd feel a hell of a lot better if she looked extra sexy. Now Mina was taking her to a party so that everyone would know that Serena was better off WITHOUT Devon in her life and if he happened to see her he would be kicking himself for ever hurting her the way he had. Not that Serena even cared anymore, she had pretty much gotten over him with Mina's help. It had only been a few days since she had overheard Devon's conversation but in those few days she had realized that he couldn't break her heart because he never really had it in the first place. She hadn't really been in love, she'd been in love with the IDEA of love. But those days were over now! She would never again fall in love and end up losing herself in the process. So many women got tricked into thinking that the guy they were with truly loved them, only to have their hearts ripped from their chests, tossed in a blender and its contents splattering the walls ( metaphorically speaking of course). Well it was time she gave those guys a taste of their own medicine! SHE would become the player for once. Why not? She'd already lost her virginity to someone who didn't love her so what difference would it REALLY make if she continued to sleep with men she didn't love? She was almost eighteen so nobody would be able to tell her that she couldn't do it.

" Goodbye Innocent Serena! You won't be missed." she said to nobody in particular before closing the door to her room and leaving with Mina for the party.

END FLASHBACK

Now, two years later, Serena had successfully managed to alienate everyone and close her heart off to everyone except her closest family and friends. Darien was right about one thing; she WAS a frigid bitch out to make everyone suffer. But he didn't have to say that to her, even if she had bruised his ego. He was arrogant enough to think he was God's gift to women and Serena had simply put him in his place and deflated that oversized ego of his. But he had to take offense to her comments and fight back, and that unnerved her to no end. NOBODY had ever talked back to her the way he had. Nobody dared to comment on HER behaviors, not even her worst enemies ( all women). But Darien had not only pushed her off her golden pedestal high above the rest of the world, he had chopped it down with her still on it. And the annoying thing was, she wasn't even upset about what he'd said anymore. She was just annoyed that he had managed to put her in her place. And what was REALLY annoying to her was that for some strange reason she STILL wanted him.

Darien ran his hand through his hair, sighing with frustration. He had been wandering around the mansion, searching for Serena , for the past twenty minutes with no luck. He wished Andrew's little sister Mina was there to tell him where Serena could have gone but of course she and Kevin had disappeared as well. Darien made his way upstairs and immediately slapped his forehead. Of course! Why didn't I think of this earlier? She's probably in her bedroom. I wonder which one is hers...

He passed a door that had a pretty white and gold doorknob and was about to turn it when he heard muffled cries and moans of pleasure. Nope! Not THAT room.

He passed a few more rooms but since the doors were open to them he knew they were only guest rooms. He jumped when he heard a scream coming from the 'other' room, followed by Kevin's muffled groan. He knew instantly that Mina and Kevin were in that room since he'd heard Kevin call out Mina's name. Well at least THEY'RE enjoying themselves. he thought bitterly. Finally he gave up on searching by himself for Serena and bravely went back and knocked on the door. " Mina! I know you and Kevin are in there! Cover up now cuz I need to talk to you."

" Right NOW Darien? Can't you tell that we're a little BUSY at the moment? Why don't you go find Serena and get BUSY yourself?" Kevin shouted from behind the door.

" That's exactly WHY I NEED TO TALK TO MINA! I can't FIND Serena in this huge mansion!"

He heard Mina sigh and after a minute the door opened and Mina was wearing a gold colored silky robe that was tied as tight as she could get it to be. She narrowed her eyes at him.

" I don't know if I should tell you where she is. She CLEARLY doesn't want to see you right now if she didn't bother to tell you where she'd be...however, I am sick and tired of her bitchiness and I think you're the answer to her problems so I'll tell you anyway. But, you have to act like you found her all by yourself and I told you to get lost or else she'll be pissed at me, and then I'll kill you."

" You have my word!" Darien promised.

" Okay. Her room is just down the hall to the right, just two doors away from Sammy's room. You can't miss HIS room since there's a huge sign on the door threatening you bodily harm if you enter his domain. Oh, and be sure to tell her that her mother thinks she's not feeling well because that's the lie I told her to cover for Sere when she took off the first time."

Darien smiled gratefully. " Thank you Mina!"

" No problem. Oh, and Darien? If you hurt her so help me I will beat you to death with a shovel!" she said that so sweetly that it was almost scary.

" Uh...Don't worry, I won't." he replied, backing away slightly.

Mina smiled. " Good, because I really don't WANT to have to kill you since you're my brother's best friend. But I WILL hurt you if I have to so don't fuck this up!" then she waved and shut the door again, leaving Darien alone in the hall to think about what Mina had said.

Serena had finally calmed down enough to face everyone downstairs again, however now her face was stained with tears and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She had to wait until she no longer looked like she had been crying before she would dare to show her face downstairs. The last thing she wanted was for Darien to know she'd been crying. She jumped whenshe heard the doorknob turn and the creaking sound of metal alerted her that someone had already pushed the door open.

" I thought I locked the door when I came in here, but since I forgot I'll say this once. I wish to be alone at the moment so please leave me alone." she said calmly without turning around to see who it was. She heard the sound of a lock clicking and the door shut once more. She sighed in relief and closed her eyes again. She immediately opened them again when she felt a pair of strong arms around her and the unmistakable scent of a spicy cologne. Only one person she knew wore that particular scent and she immediately sat up, or tried to anyway. Darien was faster than she was and pulled her closer to him, preventing her from escaping again.

" I'm sorry." He breathed in the scent of her hair and nuzzled her neck.

" Well I'm still mad at you, so leave!" she growled, trying to pull away again. He just held her tighter until she finally stilled in his arms.

" And you have every right to be mad at me. I was out of line when I said those things to you and I'm going to make it up to you."

" Oh really. What if I'm not in the mood?"

" Then I'll tease you into a sexier mood."

" And what if I kill you before you can even start?"

Darien sighed. " Are you going to be difficult all day?"

" Gee, I dunno! I mean, you called me a frigid bitch and treated me like I was some goddamn whore so yeah, maybe I WILL be difficult all day."

" Serena, please. I really don't want to fight with you right now, okay? What I said was comepletely untrue."

There were a few minutes of silence before Darien spoke again. " So, this is the room you grew up in?" he asked innocently.

Serena nodded and he finally let her go, hoping she would stay with him and open up a little bit.

" Yeah, this was my room."

" It's nice."

Serena shrugged. " I guess. I prefer the one in my apartment though. This one was more like a nicer part of a prison when I was growing up, only it was a lot easier to escape from if you knew how."

" Why do you say that? I thought all girls thought of their rooms as sanctuaries. At least I got that impression from my older sister every time I went into her room to annoy her."

Serena laughed bitterly. " Well then she obviously didn't grow up in the type of environment I did. It was suffocating living here and as soon as I graduated from high school Mina and I got our own apartment using the money from our trust fund and got the hell away from here. My room here is far from being a sanctuary. I didn't decorate it, my mother had it decorated for me with her own tastes in mind. I wasn't allowed to have pin ups or posters of celebrities on the walls like other teenagers had because it 'ruined the sophisticated look' she had wanted. I had to practically hide all the clothes I had bought myself because if I didn't, the maids would find them and tell my mother. I had to wear 'pretty' dresses everytime we had company or were going out. I ALWAYS was told to sit up straight and smile, even if I didn't feel like it. And worse still was that falling in love didn't exist in my house. My parents had this crazy idea that they could tell me who I could date."

" Is that why you don't want them to know about me?" he asked.

Serena shook her head. " Oh no, they'd LOVE you. You're exactly the type of man they want me to marry. You come from a wealthy family AND they obviously know your parents. To them, money equals love and happiness."

" I don't get it! If your family approves of me then why do we have to hide our attraction?"

Serena rolled her eyes upward. " Do you have selective hearing or something? If THEY found out they'd be planning when we'd get married and what we'd name our children."

" Is the idea of marrying me really that horrible?" Darien asked, pretending that he was crushed. Well actually he was a little hurt but he knew what she really meant.

" You know I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that if we DID end up in a relationship, I wouldn't want my parents to start trying to control that aspect of my life as well."

" Being in control is important to you, isn't it?" It was more of a statement than a question. Serena looked into Darien's eyes, and it was as if she was baring part of her soul to him.

" It is when it comes to my heart. My parents don't really love each other at all but they stay together for the sake of appearances. And over the years I've watched my mother drink and my father come home at odd hours in the early morning. I don't know how many affairs he's had over the years because I lost count and I really don't wanna know. When I was sixteen and newly driving, my mother wanted me to drop by my father's office to give him the papers he'd forgotten to take with him. Unfortunately, when I got there the secretary was gone from her desk so I had to actually go into his office. And then I found out why Kaori wasn't at her desk, she was flat on her back on Dad's desk and he was in the process of removing her blouse, completely oblivious to the fact that I was there. I ran out of there as fast as I could and after I got home and told Mom, she said she already knew! She didn't even care since she was having an affair of her own." Suddenly Serena paused in her story. " Wait, why am I telling you this? You probably don't wanna hear about my messed up childhood! Besides, we have to go back to the party."

Darien placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer so that she was lying next to him on the bed in his comfortable embrace. He kissed her gently on her forehead. " It's okay. Your cousin told your mother that you weren't feeling well and had gone to your room to rest. Besides, I want to get to know you better."

" You do?"

" Of course I do! And believe me, it's not everyday that I actually care about what a woman is saying so consider yourself very special."

" You're just saying that to get in my pants."

" In case you've forgotten Sere, I've ALREADY gotten into your pants more than once and I still haven't left yet. Doesn't that count for something?"

" All it means is that I'm better than any of the other chicks you've bedded and you can't get enough of me."

" You're way too suspicious for your own good, you know that?"

" I've been told a few times that I need to be more trusting."

" So what is this? You trust me with your body but not with your heart or your mind?"

" Well, you've given me no reason to so far since you haven't exactly told me about your childhood traumas." Serena countered.

Darien sighed. " You're right. It's only fair that I tell you a little about myself. My mother was a poor, single mother who had married her high school sweetheart. As we all know, that rarely means a happy ending so after my sister turned three, he left them both and ran off with some cocktail waitress at the bar he worked at. My mother was too afraid to be alone so she quickly married a rich man, my father. A year later I was born and my mother Kristen went into a major depression. I don't remember much about her since she died in a car accident when I was three, but my sister is very bitter toward her. My father used to go away on business trips when I was very young so I was mostly cared for by my sister and my father's younger sisters. Then, when my aunt Charlotte got married and became pregnant with my cousin Rachel and my even younger aunt Helen went off to college, my dad took it upon himself to raise us. He only dated a few women after my mother since he was more interested in finding a wife and mother instead of a short term girlfriend. Unfortunately, none of the women he dated wanted to settle down with a man who already had two children. So, Dad gave up the hunt for the perfect wife and spent all his free time taking care of us."

" How nice for you that your family actually cared about you and not just what you could do for their image." Serena commented with a hint of jealousy in her eyes.

Darien unconsciously began to stroke her back and run his fingers gently through her hair. " It couldn't have been ALL bad growing up here. I'm sure you had a few people who cared about you."

" Yeah, you're right about that. Mina was more like a twin sister to me than my cousin and Andrew was like my big brother when I was growing up. I tell Mina everything and anything and she always seems to know what I need in life before I do. And Andrew is like my protector. He may be your best friend but if he ever found out we were 'together' he'd be giving you 'the talk' and warn you that if you hurt me in any way, he'd kill you."

" I'll keep that in mind. What about your brother?"

"Sammy? He's the typical annoying little brother. He used to drive me crazy when we were younger and I'd refer to him as the evil demon spawn from Hell. We practically tried to kill each other half the time. But now, and you can't tell anyone this cuz I'll deny it, I really care about him and I'm so worried that he'll turn into Dad's clone since he doesn't realize what a prick Ken Tsukino really is."

" I'm sure he'll figure it out. He seems to be just as smart and suspicious as his big sister." Darien said the last part teasingly and Serena playfully swatted his arm.

" Well, you're right about the smart part but I'm NOT suspicious of everyone. But you know what?"

" What?" Darien murmured as he continued to trail his fingers up and down her spine.

" I REALLY don't wanna talk about my family anymore. What you're doing right now is begining to turn me on and I just realized that you locked the door when you came in."

" I did, didn't I. Hmmm, we're alone in your room, on your bed and the door is locked..."

" And thanks to my cousin, everyone thinks I'm upstairs resting because I was feeling ill. And you know what else? This room has never been 'christened' before."

" Oh?" Darien asked as he lowered his lips to Serena's. " Then we'll have to fix that, won't we?" Serena merely nodded and pressed her lips to his. Darien slowly brushed his lips over hers a few times and began to stroke her back. Serena parted her lips slightly and ran her tongue along his bottom lip, eliciting a soft moan from him. She pressed his bottom lip between hers and alternated between gently nibbling and sucking on it. Darien groaned and pulled her bottom lip between his to do the same thing to her and Serena felt the electric shocks run through her. Gods he was such a good kisser!

His lips were like velvet against her own and she trembled in his arms as the sweet sensations coursed through her. Soon the teasing, gentle, nibbling kisses became deeper and more passionate. Darien slipped his tongue into her mouth and used it to massage hers. He tasted like cinnamon, chocolate and sensuality and Serena ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him even closer and wanting more. After a few minutes he pulled away from her thoroughly kissed lips and moved to kiss the spot just behind her ear that he now knew to be a major erogenous zone for her.

" Oh...Darien!" she moaned as he began licking the spot behind her ear and increasing the tempo until she was shuddering beneath him. Darien felt her nipples hardening into little buds through his thin shirt and her little whimpers of pleasure kept ringing in his ears like soft bells. His hands slid down to her back and unzipped her dress, freeing her breasts from their confinement. As he began to trail hot kisses down her neck, one of his hands slid up and down one side of her left breast teasingly before slowly circling inward to her nipple. He then lowered his head to her breast and began to slowly suckle her while his hand switched to the other breast and gave it the same treatment.

Serena just wanted to tear Darien's shirt off of him but she knew she couldn't do that since they weren't in his apartment or hers at the moment. She gently pushed Darien far enough away from her so that she could unbutton his shirt without becoming too distracted again. Darien helped her get out of her own clothes since the dress could get VERY wrinkled if she kept it on. Once they had rid themselves of the last of their clothing, Darien moved on top of Serena again and continued to pleasure her breasts. He moved to the right breast and gently kissed it before flicking it with his tongue a few times. He then pulled her nipple into his mouth and suckled her while massaging her left breast again.

Serena arched her back and unconsciously her own hands began to slide down her body until her fingers lightly brushed over her swollen jewel. Darien suddenly stopped pleasuring her breasts and grabbed her hand to stop her from touching herself. " Sorry but I can't let you do that, no matter how incredibly hot it would be to watch you get yourself off. In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to make up for my jerky behavior and I can't do that if you simply press fast forward until you hit the Big O!"

Serena groaned with frustration. " But we don't have enough time for you to be taking the scenic route Darien! We have to get back downstairs to the party soon and come up with some excuse as to why we're leaving!" she reminded him. Suddenly she felt Darien's hand slide between her legs and remove her own hand. " You want me to make you come Serena?" he asked her huskily as his fingers began to caress her velvet heat.

" Y...Yes!" she replied shakily as he continued to rub over her jewel.

" Then your wish is my command!" He suddenly pressed his fingers to the left side of her hot pearl and moved over it rapidly in a back and forth motion, causing her to arch her back and jerk her hips upward. She could already feel the pressure within her building as her pearl became even more sensitive to his touch.His pace was maddening and he was pressing his fingers against her jewel even harder as she got closer to the edge. And then she felt the heat rising within her and her inner muscles began to tighten up and contract as everything seemed to explode inside her. Darien quickly covered her mouth with his and stifled her screams with passionate kisses as she climaxed. Once he was sure she had calmed down enough, he pulled away from her lips. " Did you like that Sere?"

Serena nodded her head, unable to speak since she was still breathing heavily.

" Do you wanna feel that again?" he asked her.

Serena nodded again. Darien quickly retrieved his pants and pulled another condom from the pocket. Serena sat up and quickly slid the condom down his length until he was fully sheathed. Serena was about to climb on top of him and impale herself on his length when we suddenly placed his hands on her hips and turned her around so that she was sitting in his lap with her back pressed against his hard chest. She quickly figured out what he was doing ( she DID read Cosmo after all!) and lifted her hips so that he could penetrate her. He thrust up into her a few times, still holding her hips, before slowly pulling her back to lay on top of him. His hands immediately slipped between her legs and rubbed her jewel on the same side as before but this time he gradually increased the tempo as he occasionally thrust upward, doubling her pleasure. She came again within minutes and Darien groaned when he felt her inner muscles squeezing him tightly and nearly sending him over the edge right along with her. As she was still recovering from her climax he sat up with her in his arms and continued to rub over the swollen nub of flesh that was giving her such intense pleasure.

" Darien!" she gasped as she felt the pressure building within her once more. This time he used one hand to push her hips away from his slightly while still rubbing her jewel and began to thrust up with his hips. This time Serena pulled him over the edge with her and they both cried out each other's names.

" Oh Gods! That was incredible!" Serena said breathlessly as she fell back onto the bed, delightfully spent.

" So do you forgive me?" Darien asked, falling back next to her.

" Mmmmhmmm. You've more than made it up to me! I hope you're not too tired to do that again later when we get back to my place because now that I've fully experienced what you have to offer me, I'll NEVER be able to get enough!"

" Wow! That's the best compliment I've ever heard! I think we should go back downstairs, tell everyone we're leaving, and then I'll show you all the stuff that awarded me the Platinum Ribbon in the Bedroom Olympics!"

" Sounds like a plan! Let's just find Mina and Kevin first so that we can all leave together. If Mina and I pretend we're sick then everyone will think you guys are just being gentlemen by driving us home so we don't accidentally pass out and drive off the road!"

" Good idea! I'm sure they're still in one of the bedrooms up here. They were pretty busy enjoying themselves before I found you in here."

" Yep! They ARE still in Mina's room then! Well, we should probably remind them that they need to come up for air long enough to get out of here!"

" Let's go then!" Darien said as he quickly threw on his clothes and Serena slipped on her dress. Once they were dressed and Serena had grabbed her purse and made sure she dindn't look like she'd just had the best sex of her life ( her hair was very messy and tangled), they left in the direction of Mina's room.

Sure enough, the door was locked and the moans of pleasure were unmistakeable. Serena knocked on the door and she heard Mina cursing. " Relax Mina, it's just us!" Serena said. Mina opened the door, once again wearing her robe. " Sere? Darien? What do you guys want?" she asked.

" We're leaving now! Get dressed both of you! Mina, you and I are gonna pretend we're feeling really ill and want to go home. Then Darien and Kevin will offer to drive us back to our place since we're too sick to focus on driving. Then, you go back to Kevin's place for the night and Darien will stay with me at our place since I can't exactly go to his apartment since Andrew lives there too. We'll leave my car here and pick it up later tomorrow to make it more believable!" Serena explained.

" Just give me a few minutes and I'll be ready to fake my illness!" Mina said excitedly, shutting the door once more.

Darien smirked suddenly and Serena looked up at him questioningly. " What's so funny Darien?"

" I was just wondering how many times you and your cousin have come up with some sort of scheme in order to sneak out of the house."

" You don't wanna know, trust me. The numbers will only shock you!" she replied, unable to hide the mischievous look in her eyes.

Darien smiled. There was still so much that he wanted to find out about this beautiful woman. She intrigued him more than he'd thought was possible and she kept him guessing what she would say or do next; which was why he intended to make her his and his alone. She already wanted his body, now he would slowly get her to want his heart as well. All he needed was to spend more time with her and get her to trust him even more than she had today on her old bed.


	10. Chapter 7

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: NC17

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Sailor Moon. If I did, don't ya think I'd be charging money for my stories?

Chapter 7: To Fall in Love Again

Serena hadn't said a word to Darien the whole drive back to her apartment. He didn't pay much attention to that fact however since he was after all, a guy. It wasn't until they were at the door to Serena and Mina's apartment that Darien realized that something was wrong. Serena unlocked the door and stepped inside, not even acknowledging Darien's presence in the white carpeted hallway.

" Well?" Darien asked, causing Serena to turn around and face him.

" What?" she replied, sounding slightly irritated.

" Aren't you going to invite me in? Or am I supposed to just stand here in the hallway all night?"

Serena crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. " You don't have to stand in the hall; you could always go home. Personally I don't care what you do tonight or any night."

" Wait a second! You said WE were staying at your place tonight!"

Serena laughed. " You're really dense! Did you honestly think I would have forgiven you that easily? Despite the many women you've bedded, you STILL hardly know anything about them except how to satisfy them in bed."

" But you said-"

" Oh PLEASE! I only said all that shit so that I could get laid. Men aren't the only ones who can manipulate someone in order to get exactly what they want. And I only said you would be staying the night with me because I wanted to leave the party early and I needed a really good excuse. So thank you Darien for a wonderful evening, with the exception of that fight we had earlier. Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to be ALONE tonight."

She moved to shut the door, but Darien was too quick for her and he pushed the door open before it could close all the way. " I'm sorry you feel that way, but I am NOT going home until you tell me exactly what the hell is making you so damn bitchy all of a sudden!"

" So not only are you arrogant, clueless and a total asshole, but you are also so much of a bastard that you'd enter my apartment uninvited just to call ME a bitch. I KNEW it was a mistake to sleep with you, but did I listen to myself? NO, I just went ahead and did it anyway! DAMN IT!"

Stepping inside, Darien shut and locked the door. " You can swear and call me all the names you like Serena, but it won't cause me to give up on us."

" US?" she sneered. " Last time I checked, we weren't in a relationship."

" Really? Enlighten me then SERENA, what do you consider a relationship to be? I always thought that two people who were monogamous were in a relationship but if you think there's more to it..."

" Oh there is! For one thing, people in a REAL relationship actually love each other."

" And what if I told YOU that I DO love you!"

Serena felt as if Darien had just paralyzed her when he said those words. She couldn't find the strength in her legs to move as he came toward her.

" No..." she whispered when she felt his arms encircle her waist and pull her against him in a warm and seemingly loving embrace. But Serena was not as foolish as she had once been. She knew that men only said the things they thought women wanted to hear in order to get what they wanted. Darien was just using one of the many deceitful tactics men had used for centuries; and Serena was on to him. She tried to pull away from him but he simply held her tighter.

" Don't! Don't tell me you love me, because we both know that's a load of crap and only works in love stories and fairy tales! So why don't you just stop with all the lies and realize that I know all of your games. If you wanna get laid, just say so. Don't try to make me think this is a relationship OR that you actually care about me, because let's face it; once you've satisfied your lust you'll just end up leaving me. " She avoided his gaze, hoping he wouldn't notice how much it hurt for her to say those words. But it WAS the truth, and if she didn't say it now then he would continue to lie to her and eventually she would believe him. And then, he would hurt her and she would be even more messed up than when Devon had tricked her.

" What makes you think I'm lying to you?"

" And don't act like you're being sincere! If you want to stay the night so badly then you can stay! But if you ever lie to me like that again in a cruel attempt to toy with my emotions, I'll kick you out of my bed so fast that you won't even have time to get dressed! Let that be your first and final warn-"

The rest of that sentence was cut off as Darien pressed his mouth to hers to silence her with passionate knee-weakening kisses. She tried to pull away, determined not to surrender herself to her burning desire for him, but he held her tightly to him, making escape nearly impossible. She beat her hands against his chest in frustration and anger, but all that did was cause him to deepen the kiss until she was sure she wouldn't be able to stand on her own. She whimpered, knowing that she was losing what little sliver of control she had left. Darien kissed the corners of her mouth, licking gently, before moving to the side of her jaw where her pulse was beating rapidly. He nuzzled her there, and that little sliver of control was gone.

Serena unclentched her fists and slipped her fingers into the gaps of his buttoned shirt. She sighed in satisfaction as the sound of ripping fabric and buttons scattering everywhere echoed through the large furnished living room. In seconds, the shirt was off of him and Serena's gaze fixated on his hard chest and toned arms. And he's all MINE! Serena thought in satisfaction. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself closer, sliding a leg up to hook around his. She couldn't seem to get close enough to him and it was driving her crazy with an insatiable lust.

"Darien..." she moaned as he continued his assault on her senses. " If you don't stop that we won't make it to the bedroom.."

" I don't mind." he replied, his lips still brushing over the thin skin of her throat and jaw.

She moaned with pleasure as he gently sucked and nibbled at the corner of her jaw again. His fingers trailed up her spine and before she realized what he was doing, he had unzipped her dress.

" No...I'm serious about this Darien! We have to go to my bedroom if you want to continue this."

" Fine, we'll go there later...right now, just enjoy."

Serena groaned in both pleasure and frustration as he once again nibbled at her neck.

"But...I promised her!"

" What did you promise, Sere?" Darien asked as he slipped the thin straps of her dress off of her shoulders, pulling the fabric down until it fell to the floor.

" I promised I wouldn't do this outside of the bedroom."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you later okay? Right now, just take me to bed."

"Where is your room?"

"I like a man who listens!" she purred. " Upstairs, it's the second bedroom on the right."

Darien lifted her up into his arms and carried her upstairs bridal-style to her room and placed her on the bed before laying down next to her on top of the white bedspread. It seemed a little odd that Serena would have chosen such a PURE color, but then again he didn't really know her as intimately as he knew her body. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered never wanting to fall in love again. Well all that had changed the moment he had laid eyes on his beautiful Serena...oh yes, she would become his and his alone once he put his plan into action. But first, he needed to show her how much she affected him.

Serena had known that getting involved with Darien was a very bad idea, especially since she didn't want to fall in love again. But no matter how hard she tried to deny it, the attraction was too strong to ignore. He could make her ache for him just by looking into her eyes and she was unable to resist temptation for very long. Right now was a very good example of just how little control she had around him. Hadn't she been furious with him earlier? She couldn't seem to recall an arguement, but she knew there had been one before he had kissed her fiercely and made her forget.

The flames of passion burned through her skin and heated her to the very core of her being as Darien kissed her mindlessly once more. He slid his tongue teasingly behind her ear before working his way down the side of her jaw. He traced the thin skin of her throat and the spot between her neck and shoulder, as if he was following an invisible line. His lips moved back up to her ear again, and this time he kissed his way down the path he had traced out with his tongue. He did the same to the other side of her neck before kissing his way down to her breasts. She couldn't stop the moans of pleasure from escaping her throat as he took one of her breasts into his hand and massaged it while suckling on the other one. She began to grind her lower body against his, trying to bring herself to climax and relieve some of the pressure that had built up within her.

Darien knew that Serena was hanging on by a mere thread, but he wasn't ready to let her come just yet. No, he wanted this to be a night she would remember for the rest of her life. She would feel his love for her, and the burning desire that consumed him would consume her as well. He would make sure that she felt it. He could feel her grinding against him and immediately pulled away, smiling when she let out a frustrated groan.

" I need you Darien!" she pleaded when she realized he had pulled away from her.

" And I want you just as badly Serena, but I haven't even begun to pleasure you yet; and after all the things I have done today to piss you off, I really think I owe it to you to do this right."

"But I don't think I can handle anymore Darien! I'm so close...please!"

Before Darien could stop her, she grabbed his hand and placed it between her thighs so that he could feel how warm and wet she was through the dampness of her panties.

"You feel that, don't you? This is how badly I need you right now." She gasped when she felt Darien slip his fingers under the silky fabric and slide up to stroke her velvet heat. She sank down into the pillows and raised her hips up slightly so that Darien could slide her panties off of her; but he didn't. Instead he pulled his hand away from that tempting spot and moved it to rest at the side of her waist. His hands traced over her sides in circular patterns while he placed soft kisses over her breasts and ribcage. He moved lower, his hands slipping down to the curve of her hips. He traced a path from her chest to her belly button with his tongue before kissing his way downward in the same way he had done with her neck.

Serena was tingling with anticipation as Darien slowly placed kisses along the waistband of her panties. She was surprised, however, when he didn't remove them. He spread her thighs apart and slid his tongue along the inside, slowly moving inward. Serena moaned in pleasure and near pain as the pressure inside her continued to build up even more. It was as if something inside her had been wrapped up too tight and was trying to break free of its restraints.

"Darien, please...please, I'm so close! Oh, Darien! Oh Baby, PLEASE!" she cried out, not even realizing that she had unconsciously revealed how she truly felt about him. The endearing pet name didn't go unnoticed by Darien. She called me 'Baby'! She feels the same way I do, which means she's just pretending that there's only lust between us...Oh Serena, there's no way I'm going to let you go now without a fight.

He placed a soft kiss over the silky fabric of her panties before sliding them off of her to be ignored until much later; after he had finished showing her how much he loved her. He spread her thighs apart again and quickly found her sweet spot. He flicked his tongue over it rapidly until Serena was shaking and gripping the sheets so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. Darien couldn't imagine a more erotic image than that of Serena naked; her long blond hair splayed over the pillows and the beads of sweat causing her skin to glisten. Oh Serena, my love! You are so beautiful, I love you... he thought as he continued to pleasure her.

Serena couldn't feel anything except for the exquisite pleasure Darien was giving her. She rolled her head from side to side as her jewel became even more sensitive that it was almost too much for her body to handle. Suddenly she felt Darien rapidly flick the tip of his tongue over the left side of her hot pearl. She felt the intense heat within her and the pressure that had built up inside her seemed to explode. Darien didn't let up with the movements of his mouth and within mere seconds Serena went over the edge again. " Now! Darien I need you..." Serena pleaded, her heart racing so fast that she was sure Darien could hear it too.

After ridding himself of the rest of his clothes and taking care of protection, Darien moved over Serena and thrust into her in one smooth motion. She cried out in satisfaction as she felt every inch of him filling her up perfecly, as if he had been molded for her alone.She mentally kicked that thought out the door. If I start thinking like my old self I'll end up getting hurt again. She didn't dare look at him, because she knew that he would see it on her face ; realize that she was falling in love. Instead she closed her eyes and let the sensations take over her completely so that she didn't have to think and didn't have to feel anything beyond the physical.

Darien recognized the look in her eyes, he'd had the same look in his own eyes all the time before he'd met her. She was trying to hide behind her defenses again, and sex was a means of escape for her; just as it had always been for him. He wasn't about to let her do that now; not when he wanted her to realize that she WASN'T just another fling to him. Darien wanted to prove to her how much he loved her and how well he would treat her if she was his girlfriend...or dare he dream it, his fiancee? His beautiful wife? Oh how he wanted that dream to come true. But unfortunately, if Serena kept up that emotional barrier she wouldn't feel that love, nor would she see it in his eyes. Darien had to think fast before he lost her again. He stilled all movement and gently cupped her cheek in his hand, placing a soft kiss over her lips before pulling away slightly. "Serena. Baby, open your eyes please and look at me." he coaxed, gently stroking the side of her face with his thumb. Serena slowly opened her eyes, and Darien could see just how vulnerable and exposed she felt. He continued to stroke her cheek and whisper soothingly as he spoke. "I don't know why you're so afraid, Serena, but I promise I would never hurt you physically OR emotionally. You don't have to hide your feelings from me, I don't even understand why you would need to. If you'll just trust me and understand that I'm not going to simply leave you one day, I promise you that you won't regret it."

Serena trembled beneath his gaze. He sounded so sincere, as if he truly cared about her. But how could she trust him when she had been fed so many lies in the past from Devon and the others? How could she believe him when the first thing they had done when they first met was tumble into bed? What if all they really had was sex and Darien had just become infatuated with her and would eventually come to his senses and leave her? Or worse, marry her just because he'd promised never to leave her and he felt he needed to keep that promise? Oh god, what if they ended up in a marriage like that of her parents? He would be sleeping with his secretaries, she would become an alcoholic socialite who had affairs of her own...and the children would suffer because of a stupid mistake she had made in her late teens to early twenties. She didn't want to risk being hurt, but a part of her believed in the fairy tale story he was promising her, and she found herself seriously considering giving him a chance. She bit her lip, considering her options. She could say yes and either have the greatest love of all time or get her heart stomped on all over again, or she could close off her heart from ever knowing love and possibly die alone.

"I don't know..." she whispered. "I am just so scared that this'll end badly and I'll be hurt again...and-"

Darien kissed her again, trying to put everything he felt for her into the kiss. He pulled away again, looking into her beautiful eyes once more. "Say yes to this, Serena. Say yes to us." He placed his lips over the sensitive spot beneath her ear and began to lick teasingly. "Darien!"

"So what do you say?" he asked, sliding a hand to her breast to tease her nipple.

"I really don't know..."

"Tell me." he said almost playfully as he suddenly moved his hand even lower to tease her jewel.

"I...I...Darien PLEASE, just stop teasing me and just make love to me!" she whimpered, feeling the heat rising within her again.

"Is that a yes then Sere? Will you trust me and let me love you?" he asked, aware of how much he was arousing her but refusing to bring her to climax again; at least not yet.

"Darien, PLEASE!"

"Is that a yes?" He repeated. Suddenly he pressed into her jewel a little bit harder and Serena cried out.

"Yes! Okay! I'll trust you, now can you please just-" she never got to finish that sentence. His mouth came down over hers and at the same time he began to thrust inside her again. Serena didn't suppress her emotions this time, and she was soon kissing him with as much feeling as she possibly could put into it. This was new for her since she had never made love before. This ran deeper than just physical pleasure, THIS was everything she had ever dreamed of when she was still innocent and full of love and romantic notions and it was even more than that. She felt as if she had a part of his soul and he had a part of hers, that they had been only half a soul before they'd found each other. It didn't make any sense, and yet it DID make sense to her. She felt like he had brought her back to life when she hadn't even realized she'd been dead inside. She wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace, afraid that if she let go she would wake up from this delicious dream and be alone again. If this is a dream, I wanna be comatose cuz I never want it to end!

Darien continued to thrust into her rhythmically, paying close attention to the spots that made her cry out the most. Soon he could feel her body begin to shake and he knew she was almost there. He continued his movements inside her, loving the sound of her passionate moans and cries as he brought her over the edge. He didn't stop his movements, determined to make her come again...and this time he came with her. He slowly lowered himself over her, burying his face into the skin of her neck; kissing, licking, breathing in her intoxicating scent. Serena slowly ran her fingers through his hair and closed her eyes, savoring the moment. She had never felt so happy and relaxed in her life, and it was all because of Darien that her body was still tingling all over and her pulse beating so hard she could feel it everywhere at once.

After a minute or so, Darien slipped out of her and headed for the bathroom. Serena tossed the decorative pillows to the floor and turned down the bed. When Darien returned, he couldn't help but chuckle. "What?" Serena asked, curious to know what he found so amusing. "Nothing. I just saw your sheets and..."

"And what?"

"Well, your bedding is just so much like you and the way you portray yourself. At first glance, your bed looked so pure and innocent, just like everyone seems to think YOU are. But then you reveal those sexy red bed sheets under all that white... It's like your passionate sexy side that very few people get to see."

"How very insightful. But there's just one little thing you forgot."

"And what's that?" he asked, stepping closer to her.

"I have a leopard print quilt under the white bedspread which must mean that I'm also a wild woman according to your theory."

"Mmm...you are definitely that, my wild and sexy temptress."

Serena giggled, something she hadn't done in a long time. It felt wonderful to be able to act so playful without having to stay on her guard at the same time. "Well then, maybe we should test that theory of yours and find out just how wild I can be?"

Darien grinned. "Oh I like that idea a lot."

"I knew you'd say that." she giggled again, then she pulled him closer. They tumbled back onto the bed again, lost in each other's embrace.


	11. Chapter 8

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: R

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Sailor Moon. If I did, don't ya think I'd be charging money for my stories?

Chapter 8:

Beryl flopped down onto her plush black sofa, a glass of red wine in her hand. She sipped it delicately as she flipped through a fashion magazine; trying to block the horrible images of Darien going into his room with that little slut. "AAAARRRGGHHHHHHH!" She screamed, tossing the magazine to the floor. It's no use. I can't concentrate on anything because that image of Darien taking that girl into his room haunts my thoughts! She stood up and stared at her figure in the large window-sized mirror that gave the illusion of more space in the tiny apartment she shared with her best friend Emerald Watson. Why would Darien want HER when I am so much hotter? That little bitch probably doesn't even know the first thing about pleasing a man.

Despite coming from a rich family, Beryl had been forced to rent a tiny apartment on campus, something that she did not like at all. Her parents had taken her trust fund away from her after she had turned nineteen because of a tiny little mistake she had made involving a certain video tape that got out somehow. She never did find out how her parents had discovered that the tape even existed, but she didn't really want to know either. The last thing she wanted was for an image of her parents walking into Adult Video to appear in her head alongside the image of Darien and his new little toy bouncing around in bed together, his face burried in her blonde hair.

She felt like hunting down the little bitch and destroying her! How dare she steal what is rightfully mine! If I knew who she was, I would waste no time in tracking her down and telling her to back off immediately! "After all, she's only a little girl...can't be any older than Ricky..." she thought out loud. "Wait a sec, she could have gone to school with him since she looks like the upper class princess-type that was so common in that school. All I have to do is check out his yearbook and if her picture is in there, I'll find out exactly who she is and make sure she stays away from Darien."

She picked her phone up from where it had lay on the coffe table and dialed her younger brother Rick's number, hoping that he wasn't out with Devon and that other idiot trying to pick up women. She really didn't want to deal with those two tonight since she was too upset to pretend she was still considering Devon's offer and didn't want to lie to Scott about where Emerald was and why she hadn't been returning his calls. Of course, if he was really that worried about Em, he could always ask Devon since he happened to be seeing a lot of Emerald lately. She chuckled to herself. In her social circle, there was never a dull moment.

After a few seconds, she heard her brother's sleepy and slightly irritated voice.

"Hello?" he yawned into the phone receiver.

"Ricky, it's me. Why were you sleeping? It's not even midnight yet."

"I wasn't sleeping, Sis, that was an act in case Scott or Dev called."

"So then I take it you aren't alone over there."

"You caught me. I can't turn away a willing woman though, even if she's already taken."

"Uh huh, so which one of my friends is over there with you right now?"

"You'll never believe me..."

"RICK!" she growled, "If you don't stop fucking around I will tell the other guys where Emerald has been the past few nights."

"What do you want? You obviously called for a reason."

"I want your high school yearbook."

"Why?"

"Look, Ricky, we can do this the easy way or I can tell Scott that you've been screwing around with his girlfriend."

"Okay okay, I'll bring the book by tomorrow after class."

"Or, you could bring it over NOW."

"NOW?" He whined. "Aw come on sis! I have TWO hot ladies waiting for me right now and they said they were going to cover me in chocolate and make me their special dessert! I really wanna get back to them!"

"Oh, well in that case I'll let you go."

Rick sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"Yes, I'll just call Devon and Scott over here and tell them that you won't help me out because you're to busy having a threesome with Emerald and Priscilla. I'm sure they would be VERY understanding."

"That's blackmail."

"Oh no, dear brother. That's what I call an incentive to do what I told you to do. I expect to see you in a few minutes, or I'll call the boys. Ciao!"

Beryl didn't even wait for a reply before she pressed the 'disconect' button; a smile of pure satisfaction on her face. " Soon, I'll be rid of that blonde bitch and Darien will be all mine at last!" she practically cackled to herself as she waited for her brother to arrive.

Darien gazed upon the blonde angel sleeping peacefully beside him with love and happiness. He had finally managed to get the woman of his dreams to trust him and not run away again. She looked so beautiful when she was sleeping. Serena sighed and slowly opened her eyes, her long lashes fluttering a bit as she began to wake up.

"Mmmm...Good Morning." she said softly, snuggling a bit closer.

"Good Morning Baby, sleep well?"

"Mmmmhmmmm." she purred. "I've never slept so well in my life. I just may have to insist that you sleep here every night from now on."

"Hmm, sleeping with the same woman for the rest of my life doesn't seem like such a bad idea anymore. I guess all it took was one night with the right woman to change my mind."

"Mmm, I agree with you completely! I never thought I would ever want to be in a relationship until you came into my life. Darien, you have made me feel things I never thought I would feel. I feel safe and warm when I'm in your arms, and I can't imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn't met you. It's almost like we were destined to find each other, and normally I don't believe in that sort of thing."

Darien brushed a strand of blonde hair away from her face. "Neither did I, until I met you. Serena, I don't ever want to let you go..." Serena quickly pulled him closer, pressing her lips to his in a hot and passionate kiss. After a few minutes she pulled away.

" Wow! What was that for, Sere?"

"I just felt like kissing you. I'm just so happy that you've come into my life, and I don't want to let you go either!"

He drew her closer, teasingly brushing his lips over her own. "Well, should we get up now, or do you want me to show you how much I want you in my life again?" Serena slipped her hand beneath the covers and began to stroke his already hardening manhood. " I think you know what I want, and by the feel of it you want the same thing." Darien growled and rolled Serena onto her back and began to devour her flesh all over again. They were so focused on each other that they didn't even hear someone enter the apartment.


	12. Chapter 9

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: R

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing except my active imagination, so don't sue me please!

Chapter 9:

She let herself into the apartment to be greeted by the sight of clothing scattered all over the living room. Mina couldn't help but giggle when she heard the passionate cries coming from upstairs. " What's so funny, Sweetheart?" Kevin asked, dropping the bag filled with Mina's things beside the sofa. "It seems that we weren't the only ones who had a good night Kev! And it's about time, since I've been trying to set those two up long before Andy's party!" Kevin came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her back against his chest. "Mina, you really should have been named after the goddess Venus because you meddle way too much in the love lives of all your friends and family." Mina pouted. "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult." Kevin chuckled. "Mina, I would never insult you. I just don't want you to be disappointed if it doesn't work out between them."

"Why wouldn't it work? I KNOW that those two were destined to be together, I can actually SENSE it."

"I can sense it too, but that's not the real problem. Love isn't as simple as you think, Mina. In a perfect world there would be no obstacles and nothing could come between soul mates. But unfortunately, I know things about Darien's past that may hurt Serena, just as you probably know things from her past as well. There is a woman from his past who would not be too thrilled if she discovered that he was in love with Serena, and she has proven herself to be relentless when it comes to getting what she wants. If she ever found out...Sere and Darien might not be able to trust each other and without trust there can't be any love."

Mina pulled out of Kevin's arms and paced across the room, shaking her head. "No! No freaking way will that happen! Serena and Darien are meant to be together and when true soul mates get together, NOTHING can tear them apart! Mama said so herself that true love conquers all. How could this woman from Darien's past possibly destroy true love? It just isn't possible!" Kevin moved toward her again and took her back into his arms, lightly kissing her on the top of her head. "Mina, you don't understand just how powerful Beryl is. She happens to have a huge circle of friends who all have connections to people. If she doesn't already know about Serena, she will soon enough. It is only a matter of time before she finds out from one of the girls in her group."

Mina bit her lower lip. " Kevin, what sort of things has Beryl done to get what she wants?"

"She destroys reputations, manipulates people to take her side, blackmails some and threatens others with promises to do them harm. If there's any painful secret from your past, she'll find it and either expose it or find some other way to use it to her advantage. You can't hide from her either, Darien has tried that many times and she always manages to find him."

"Beryl may prove herself to be a bitch, Kev, but I'm not worried for Serena. If Beryl DID find my cousin, then a catfight would ensue and trust me, in the end Beryl would be the only one getting her ass kicked. Serena doesn't put up with that sort of thing, and she knows how to use her claws."

Kevin sighed and looked toward the stairs. I hope you're right, because if Darien lost Serena, I don't think he would ever get over the pain.

Beryl sat on her plush sofa holding Rick's old yearbook. Her friends were all circled around the small living room paying close attention to the small photo of a blonde girl that their leader and friend had pointed out to them. "Serena Tsukino, class of 2003! I had a feeling I'd find that bitch in here and I was right! Now, do you ladies know why I asked you all to come here today?" A blonde girl with curly shoulder length hair and amber colored eyes yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. " All I know is that you called me at 7 AM this morning and told me to get over here immediately, even though I am missing three hours of my needed beauty sleep." she whined, earning a smack and a warning look from her sister, a girl with bright red hair and reddish brown eyes.

"Mimi, MY crisis is far more important than your interrupted beauty sleep!" Beryl snapped, definitely not in the mood to hear her friend's whining today.

"I appologize for my sister's immature behaviour, Beryl. She's just a little upset since her break up with Chase." Ellen said, puting a comforting arm around Mimi's shoulders.

"But didn't she cheat on him with Scott?" the ever tactful Lilah asked, her green eyes glittering with a hidden malice that only the twins Cyprine and Polly picked up on.

Viola flipped her shoulder length white blond hair over her shoulders. "Oh I don't think she'd do that Lilah, after all she KNOWS that you have dibs on Scott! Right Mimi?"

"Oh but Vi, that never stopped you from sleeping with Chase behind her back, did it?" Cyprine pointed out, twisting her long dark hair into a tight braid to keep her hands occupied and prevent herself from attacking Viola.

Viola leapt up from her spot on the floor but was pulled back down by Lilah. "Cy, you're supposed to be on MY side!"

Cyprine stuck out her tongue. " I was, until Mimi told me you were the one my ex Kyle was cheating on me with!"

"Technically, you stole him from ME! Lilah told me all about how you lied and said I was just a money grubbing whore who only wanted to get pregnant with his baby and then trap him into marrying me! So I simply told him that you were a lying bitch and then I took back what was mine! But if I had've known how bad he was in the sack I wouldn't have even bothered."

Beryl decided that she'd had enough of her friends' little soap opera and cleared her throat to regain their attention. "As entertaining as all of this is, I would really appreciate you all focussing on me now." She waited until the girls had turned back to her, then she began to speak again. "You see the girl in this picture? I want you all to track her down for me. She happens to have something of mine that I want back as soon as possible."

Viola looked at the image and shook her head. "No way B, that's Serena Tsukino! Her father happens to work with Daddy, they're business partners. If it somehow got out that I was trying to hurt Ken Tsukino's little girl, Daddy would be super pissed at me!"

Beryl looked thoughtful for a moment. "You said that your family knows Serena? Tell me Vi, what are you not telling me? Have you seen the Tsukino's recently and know something about Serena that I don't?"

"I'm not hiding anything from you, B! All I know is that there was a party yesterday at the Tsukino mansion. My parents and my brother Kevin were all invited, as was I, so we all had to go. I didn't see Serena around until it was nearly dinner time. Then I saw her, my brother, Serena's cousin Mina and that friend of Kev's all saying good bye to Ilene Tsukino. Something about the girls not feeling too good or something...anyway, they left and I didn't think anything of it since Kevin already told me that he would be leaving early with his girlfriend and I was asked to tell Mom and Dad."

Beryl's lip twitched slightly. "Serena left with one of Kevin's friends? Which friend, Viola?"

"I dunno. I've only ever seen the guy a few times. All I can remember is that he has dark hair, blue eyes and his name starts with a...D? Daniel...David...Darren..."

"Viola, sweetie, could you possibly be talking about DARIEN?" Beryl asked sweetly.

Viola's eyes lit up. "Yeah! That's his name! I really should've remembered his name though since he was such a great lay! So much better than Kyle could be any day! And what a body! I swear the guy must work out a lot!"

"You slept with Darien." It was more of a statement than a question. All the girls could sense the venomous tone in Beryl's voice, except for Viola, who was too oblivious to realize her mistake in mentioning that she had slept with Darien.

"Oh sure! But then again, I'm sure every girl has had a tumble in his bed at least once! The guy's a major player! I bet he took Serena home last night for a little bit of fun, if you know what I mean."

Beryl was seeing red. So I was right! Darien DID fall under that siren's spell! Oh Serena, you will rue the day you ever decided to steal my man from me! "I want you all to keep a watchful eye out for Serena, and when you find out where she is, call my cell phone immediately!" All the girls nodded, except for Viola. "Um, I'm confused. Why would you want us to look for Serena? Sere is one of the nicest people I know and she would NEVER do anything to hurt you."

"My business is my OWN Viola!" Beryl snapped at her, causing all the girls to jump. "You will not question me again, especially if you want me to forget all about your little tryst with Darien Shields, the object of my desire and the one man nobody can have except for me! Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Viola squeaked, suddenly realizing just how much trouble she was in if she disobeyed Beryl. May the gods have mercy on you Sere. You're about to find out what happens when you cross Beryl.

"Good." Beryl said. "You all can go home now, I need to come up with my plan now." The girls all got up and made their way to the door, picking up their designer bags and slipping back into their colorful high heels. As Viola turned to leave as well, Beryl grabbed her arm. "Viola, I need to speak with you alone, have a seat." Viola looked pleadingly at the other girls at the door, but they simply smiled and waved at her as they left one by one.

"Good, we're finally alone. I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now."

Viola shifted uneasily in the chair across from her. "Um, why?"

Beryl smiled her sweetest smile, trying to put her friend at ease. "Vi, you're my friend. You must know that I care enough to want to know what's going on with you."

"Well, nothing's going on!" Viola said a little too cheerfully to be believable.

"Oh to hell with it! Vi, I know you were sleeping with my brother a few weeks ago!"

"You knew about that? Are you mad?"

Beryl rolled her eyes. "Oh please, if I got mad everytime Ricky slept with one of my friends I would constantly be in a bad mood."

"Oh. Good."

"I also know about your little problem. Ricky's the father, isn't he?"

Viola nodded her head. "He's the only one I slept with at that time...except for Darien."

"Darien...could he be the father?"

Viola shook her head. "No way. I got my period and everything the next day and it lasted the whole six days, so there was no way. Ricky is most definitely the father, but he won't be for long cuz I'm getting rid of it next week. There's an appointment set up for Tuesday afternoon."

"But if DARIEN didn't know that you got your period after that one night...then he could think that HE was the father of your baby." Beryl thought out loud, a plan already forming in her head. "Yeah, but I already told you it wouldn't matter since I'm getting rid of it anyway." Beryl snickered. "Yes, but HE doesn't know that and if you told him that you were pregnant with his child, Serena would surely leave him and then he'd be all mine."

"Yeah, but what if he doesn't believe me?"

"Then I'm sure your big brother would be THRILLED to know that his best friend got you pregnant and refuses to take responsibility for his actions. Just cry to Kevin, swear him to secrecy so that your parents don't find out, and then watch as the happy couple breaks up forever!" Beryl winked at Viola. "And then you get rid of the evidence and nobody else will ever know that we planned all of this!"

"Wow! That's a really good plan! I think I'll go find Darien and tell him the good news!" Viola stood up and made her way to the door again. She waved to Beryl and then she was gone. Beryl smirked. "Yes, you do that Vi. Break up the happy couple, and then I will tell my brother that you plan on killing his baby next Tuesday. I'm sure he'll be really pleased to know THAT, especially since he stupidly doesn't believe in abortion. Once he finds out that Viola plans on killing his child, there will be hell to pay and I will have gotten my revenge on her for sleeping with Darien!" She picked up her phone and punched in the numbers. "Yeah, it's me. I have some interesting news..."

Viloa had practiced what she was going to say the whole drive to the apartment. At first she thought she would break down and cry, then she thought she should act a little hysterical. Finally she decided that she would just stay calm and tell Darien she was pregnant and needed money for an abortion so that her parents never found out about it. "Just remain calm and try not to give it away that you're lying. Beryl's counting on you to do this right!" she coached herself as she walked up to the apartment building and pushed the intercom.

"Yeah?" Andrew asked, still half asleep.

"I need to talk to Darien. Is he there?"

"Viola?"

"Yes. I need to talk to Darien!" Viola repeated, getting impatient.

"Uh, he's not here. He never came home last night after the party, but I'll give him a message if you want."

"No, no that's fine. But do you have any idea where he could've gone? It's important."

"Not really, except maybe..."

"Maybe what? Do you know where he is?"

"I can't say Vi, I'll tell him you dropped by though."

Viola stomped her foot on the pavement in frustration when she heard Andrew hang up on her. " Ooooh! This is not going the way I planned at all! Where could he have gone?" She climbed back into her metallic ice blue convertible and pulled away from the curb. "Hmmm, maybe he's at Serena's place. But do I dare go see her when I am about to ruin her life?" An image of Beryl glaring menacingly at her appeared in her head, causing Viola to shudder. "I DON'T wanna see her mad again, so I better get over there now. Let's hope I still remember the address..."


	13. Chapter 10

**Toxic Love**

**Chapter 10**

**Temptress Kitten 17**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters of Sailor Moon.

Viola approached the glass doors of the posh apartment building with determination. 'This is it Vi, all you have to do is go up to Serena's place and ask to talk to Darien. Then drop the bomb that he's the father of your baby and then it's bye bye Sere!' She pressed the button on the intercom and waited for one of the girls to answer. Unfortunately she had forgotten that Kevin was now dating Mina so she was startled to hear Kevin answer the intercom.

"Hello?" Kevin's deep voice came from the intercom, causing Viola to jump.

"Kevin! What are you doing here?" Viola squeaked. 'How the hell am I going to get upstairs now? Kevin won't let me up there since he knows I'm friends with Beryl!'

"I should be asking YOU that question Viola! Why are you even at Serena and Mina's apartment building at this time of the day?"

"Never mind that Kevin! Can I come up now? I need to talk to Serena and Darien for a second."

"I don't think so, sis."

Viola stomped her foot on the pavement. "Why not?" she whined.

"Viola, how stupid do you think I am? You've never spoken a word to Serena unless you were keeping up appearances at the dinners and parties."

"So maybe I wanted to talk to her now. Serena is a cool person and she'd be a great friend!"

Kevin chuckled. "Was that really the best you could come up with? I would have thought that all those years wasted on Beryl and her fan club would have taught you SOMETHING."

"Kevin! Let me up there right now! I probably look ridiculous standing here at the door!"

"And that's your own fault isn't it? Look, go back to Beryl and tell her that she's lost this battle and Darien is with Serena now."

"I'm not here because of Beryl! I'm here cuz I need to talk to Darien and it's important!"

"What? You're pregnant and instead of just confronting your latest boy toy you thought you'd just lie to Darien, say he's the father and then have HIM pay for the abortion that I KNOW you've already scheduled for sometime this week?"

Viola bit her lip. "Just let me talk to him Kevin!" She whined again, stomping her foot on the ground furiously like a spoiled child.

"You know, sometimes I'm embarrassed to call you my sister. You can be so self-centered sometimes, Viola! You never even think about the people you're going to hurt when you pull these little stunts of yours. How do you think Darien would feel if you just walked into his girlfriend's apartment, announced that you're pregnant and that you want money so that you can get rid of a child that he thinks is his? And did you consider how Serena would react? No, Viola is only thinking about herself and she couldn't possibly think of others. I bet you didn't even tell the REAL father yet did you? You're just gonna go ahead and kill his baby without him ever finding out, aren't you?"

"Who's killing who's baby?" Mina's voice came through the intercom. Viola let out a small squeak. 'Shit! If Mina finds out from Kevin that I was planning to trick Darien into giving me money then all will be lost!'

"Never mind. It's just one of those girls I was telling you about earlier. She was probably sent here by Beryl to break up our happy new couple." Viola heard him say to Mina.

"Oh. I think I should go outside and give that bitch a piece of my mind!" Mina said menacingly.

"Uh, no. Don't let her do that Kevin! I'm leaving okay? Bye bye!" Viola waited for Kevin to hang up. When she heard the telltale click she breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew! That was close. Stupid Kevin! He's always been one step ahead of me." She shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "Well, I tried. Oh well, I'll just tell Beryl that Kev is on to us and that maybe now isn't the best time to destroy Serena and Darien after all. She can't get mad at me for at least TRYING to make her plan work, right?" The memory of Beryl's menacing glare and the fire burning in her eyes caused Viola to shudder in fear. "Oh who am I kidding!" she whined. "Beryl is NOT going to be very happy with me when I tell her that I didn't do what she told me to. Unless...I DON'T tell her! Yeah! I'll just go away to one of Daddy's vacation homes for a few weeks, after I get rid of Ricky's brat of course, and stay there till B's in a better mood! After all, she can't really do anything to me if I'm not there." With that problem solved, Viola took out her cell and dialed the number for the women's clinic. After a few seconds of listening to the dial tone, the receptionist answered.

"Women's Clinic, how may I help you?"

"Yes, this is Viola Price. I was wondering if maybe you could move up my appointment to today."

Beryl was still sitting on her plush sofa sipping wine when she heard the door open and the clicking of stilettos on the hard wood floor.

"I came home as fast as I could B. What could possibly be so interesting that you felt the need to call me away from my romantic evening with Scott?" She set down her overnight bag and kicked off her shoes before flopping down on the sofa across from Beryl's.

"Well that really is a convincing story Emerald, except for the fact that your boyfriend is out with Devon at the moment and Ricky already told me about your little sexcapade last night so you don't have to lie."

Emerald clenched her fist in anger. "That rat bastard promised not to tell anyone!" she whined. Beryl smirked. "And you actually believed him? Em, Ricky can't keep a secret to save his life and when it involves a night of erotic pleasure with two lovely and already taken women, he can't go five minutes without bragging about it to SOMEBODY! Little advice? Next time you want to cheat on your boyfriend, don't do it with Ricky. And why would you go after him in the first place when you're already screwing Devon to get back at Scott for all the annoyances he's caused you?"

"You mean his screwing around with Priscilla, Catherine, Billie, Kara, Viola, Ellen, Polly, Lilah…Mimi...and no doubt Polly and Cyprine." Emerald counted the number of friends and acquaintances Scott had undoubtedly slept with while he was with her, getting angrier after each name was added to the list.

"Yes, we all know that Scott is a notorious man-whore, but did you have to get back at him by sleeping with Devon? I mean, he's your ex boyfriend from high school. You're never supposed to have an affair with an ex. A one night stand is okay, especially if you're really drunk and super pissed at your boyfriend. But you're never supposed to make it a habit of sleeping with him. You end up forgetting why you broke up with him in the first place and then you end up in ANOTHER relationship." Beryl warned.

Emerald shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? Dev is an awesome lay. I just hope that little blonde virgin he fucked up our relationship for realized how great he is and since then has become a huge slut who can't ever seem to get hers."

Beryl was thoughtful for a moment. "Wait, you went to Ricky's school too right?"

Emerald nodded indifferently as she started filing her perfectly manicured nails. "Yeah, but so did a lot of our friends. I mean, practically everybody who comes from money and is actually worth knowing went to that school at one point."

"So, you knew a lot of the people who were in your graduating class right?" Beryl asked.

"I knew all of them or at least knew OF them. Why do you ask?"

Beryl shrugged. "Oh, I just was curious. You said that in senior year you and Devon broke it off because of a bet gone wrong. What happened?"

Emerald's green eyes darkened in remembrance of that certain event. "It started out as sort of a fun little game. At the time I was dating Devon, I was also fooling around with Scott, so it was easy to convince him to get Devon to go along with the plan. You see, there was a certain blonde that I couldn't stand and I wanted to knock her off her pedestal so to speak. She was one of those annoyingly innocent types that made everyone else look bad. She was just so PURE that it was disgusting and at seventeen, it wasn't normal. She was the only senior in the school that hadn't even kissed a guy yet. So I decided to help her cast off that innocence by enlisting the help of your brother and his friends. They played off Devon's oversized ego and told him that he couldn't REALLY get ANY girl to sleep with him. He took the bait and for months he tried to seduce the little prude. Finally, he broke her. The original plan was to get her to continue to sleep with him on the sly and then have me walk in and 'catch' them going at it. Then I would spread rumors that she was a man-stealing slut and her good name would forever be tarnished, and I would be seen as the victim and everyone would feel sorry for me and any bad thing I did afterwards I could easily get away with on account of my broken heart. Unfortunately, that's not what happened. Somehow the little tramp found out about the bet and refused to even talk to Devon afterwards. As I said before, his ego is his weakness and being rejected by HER caused him to become this obsessive, whiny and definitely annoying mess of a guy. All he could talk about was her and how he had done something horrible and he actually missed her. And when I reminded him that I could do a better job of pleasing him than any little virgin whore ever could, he said that I wasn't INNOCENT enough and that he couldn't possibly love me the way he loved HER."

-Flashback-

Emerald combed out her long blonde hair and glared in annoyance at her soon to be ex boyfriend. She had just performed her most erotic moves on him and all he could do was lie there and feel sorry for himself like some pathetic and lovesick loser. She snapped him out of his reverie by smacking him on his arm. He didn't even flinch. Annoyed at his ignorance, she let out a frustrated sigh and pinched his flesh with her nails. This time he let out a yelp and placed his other hand over the spot she had caused to sting.

"Ow! Jeez Em, what the hell was that for?"

"What was that for? What the hell do you THINK that was for you jerk? We just had sex and I did my best to please YOU and you just lay there sulking over a stupid little virgin whore who won't give you the time of day."

At that comment, he sat up and gripped her arm tightly, hurting her. "She's NOT a whore and she's not a virgin anymore thanks to me." He growled.

Emerald had never seen Devon so upset before. He had never even looked that angry when others would call HER, his GIRLFRIEND, a whore to her face. If it was possible, Emerald hated the girl even more NOW than she did when she was still as pure as the freshly fallen snow. "You love her." She spat the words out as if they left a bitter taste in her mouth. She laughed at the irony of it all. "You were there to seduce HER into loving you and instead she caused YOU to fall for HER. Tell me Devon, would you have left me for her had she never found out about the bet? Would you have ruined your reputation as a player and left school as some pussy-whipped loser to be with HER of all people?"

"It's better than dating a whore who sleeps with your friends the second you take your eyes off of her." He replied coolly.

Emerald's lower lip quivered at his harsh words. "Well it's nice to know how you really feel about me. If I'm such a whore, then maybe you're better off without me to tarnish your precious new reputation as some pussy-whipped pathetic little loser who got his heart broken by a little girl."

"Fine. Get your shit and get out. Oh, and try not to sleep with anybody on your way home, though I know that's a really hard thing for you to do seeing as how my friends all live within a two block radius."

"You're so cruel Devon. I'm so very glad that it's over between us! Besides, I wouldn't want to stay with a loser like you anyway. Goodbye." With those words she walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

-End flashback-

"That little bitch ruined my perfect relationship, with the exception of my cheating on him of course. After that, SHE was the one everyone felt bad for. The poor little princess who was tricked by a guy she thought had loved her into giving up her innocence; it was all anyone could talk about. And I was just as much a common whore to them as I ever was. I immediately went to Scott for comfort and then we became exclusive…until Devon finally stopped feeling sorry for himself and acted like the man I used to love. He seems to have given up on that girl and claims that it was all a case of temporary insanity that caused him to act like such a pathetic asshole. I just hope I never have to put up with that little bitch again!"

Beryl appeared to be deep in thought. "This girl you keep describing to me sounds a lot like my new arch enemy. Tell me again, what is her name?"

"I never told you her name before because to speak it still causes me to feel ill. How about you tell me who you think she is and I will tell you if it is the same girl."

Beryl smiled. "Very well, her name is Serena Tsukino and she has stolen Darien from me."

Emerald laughed at the irony. "That's the one. Stupid little bitch isn't she? She always has been a thorn in any woman's side. I guess she likes to play with fire because she's always going after men who she shouldn't have. And to take DARIEN from you is like signing your own death warrant."

"True. But now comes the fun part. What do you suppose we do to get rid of our mutual enemy?"

Emerald's red lips curved into an evil smile as the evil wheels of a plan well formed began to turn in her head.


	14. Chapter 11

**Toxic Love**

**Chapter 11**

**Temptress Kitten 17**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters of Sailor Moon.

Beryl furiously hit the off button on her cordless phone and slammed it down onto the recharger. Yet another attempt to reach Viola had ended with Beryl getting the girl's voice mail and it only angered her further. "Where the hell is that girl?" She asked out loud. For several weeks she had been trying to contact Viola and ask her why Darien was still with Serena. But it was as if she had dropped off the face of the earth and nobody could tell her where she had gone. "Well that's just great! The one person who could cause some serious damage to that pathetic relationship Darien has with Serena without having it get somehow traced back to me has decided to skip town! Why are all the most useful people in my circle also the most spineless?" She sighed and sank down into the sofa, her head in her hands.

"What's the matter Red, got a headache?" a distinctly masculine voice asked. Beryl closed her eyes and tensed up in agitation as the owner of the voice sat down next to her and placed his hands over her shoulders. Any idiot with half a brain could see that he was hotter than hot. His chest was hard and muscular and he had the perfect tan. The sight of him without a shirt on would make most women want to check their inhibitions at the door. And those eyes… one could get lost in those deep blue eyes of his. His hair was golden blonde, wavy and fell to his chin. It was one of his most attractive qualities and you couldn't help wanting to run your fingers through it. At least, that's what all her friends said about his looks. Beryl however, was immune to his charms and when he placed those perfect hands on her shoulders she shook him off.

"Don't touch me." She hissed, glaring at him with contempt. He looked like a puppy that had just been kicked. "Hey, what's your problem Red? I was only trying to be nice and give you a neck massage. Em told me you were stressed and I thought…"

"You thought that you would come over uninvited and offer me your CURE for all that ails me? Is THAT what you were going to say?" she asked him.

"Is that an invitation, Red?" he purred, moving in closer so that she could smell his cologne.

"Don't call me Red." Beryl growled.

"Oh but it suits you so well." He leaned in so close that she could feel his hot breath on her neck, causing her to pull away as if he had burned her.

"Devon, I told you before that I'm not interested in anyone except Darien and I meant it!"

Devon pouted. "You never want to play with me. It's too bad, I happen to be a really good lover. I could make you come so hard that you'd see stars for days…and all you have to do is say 'yes'."

"If you don't stop trying to get into my pants you'll be seeing stars for weeks due to the extreme hardness of my shoe connecting with your balls!"

Devon immediately jumped away from her, a look of horror on his face. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh, I WOULD. And it's not a threat, it's a promise."

Devon rolled his eyes. "You know, I'm getting really tired of this bitch act of yours Red! When will you stop deluding yourself and accept the fact that Darien Shields is just not interested in you and never will be? You've chased him now for six years and he hasn't even shown the slightest interest in you. Face it; he isn't taking the bait and it's time you moved on with your life!"

Beryl's eyes narrowed. "Oh? You think that I should just move on and forget about Darien, is that right Devon? You think I should just give up the chase and find someone else?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying Red! Look, I know how much you wanted to be with Darien, but it's obvious that he wants nothing to do with you. Take my advice and forget about him before you drive yourself insane over unrequited love."

"Is that what you did when the girl you were in love with wanted nothing to do with YOU? You simply gave up on her and jumped back into bed with Emerald in order to 'move on' with your life?"

Devon clenched his fists at his sides and his bottom lip twitched slightly. 'It appears I have struck a nerve.' Beryl mused, quite pleased with herself. "Who told you about that?" he growled. Beryl was notorious for blackmailing people into helping her and Devon knew that she had many allies who would tell her ANYTHING about anyone if she gave them the 'incentive' to do so. Knowing that Beryl never brought up secrets from one's past without an ulterior motive, Devon couldn't help but wonder why she was reminding him of THIS when he had done things far more scandalous than tricking an innocent girl into losing her virginity to him.

Beryl grabbed her nail file off the coffee table. She sat casually in the corner edge of the soft couch and began to file her nails, looking nonchalant even as Devon glared daggers at her from the other side of the couch. "It doesn't matter who told me." Beryl said as she inspected her crimson nails and made sure that none of the polish had chipped off. "I just was curious as to how you managed to get over that lovely young woman you wronged all those years ago. Unless, you're NOT over her and you're just using Emerald to forget about HER."

Devon tried his best to hide it, but Beryl could see the flicker of raw emotion behind those blue eyes of his and she knew that her plan to get Devon to help her might work after all. 'And I owe it all to Emerald! If she hadn't told me about that little incident involving Serena and Devon I wouldn't have come up with such a brilliant plan! Now all I have to do is go in for the kill and Devon will become my most valuable pawn yet!'

"It doesn't matter if I'm over the girl or not! I hurt her so badly that she'll NEVER speak to me again, even if I begged her and told her I've changed. Before I came into her life she was pure and sweet and innocent. She never wanted to hurt anybody and she even forgave those who were mean to her, and then she'd become their friend. But when I took that bet and cruelly seduced her and tricked her into falling in love with me, I broke her spirit. From what I've heard, she hasn't been able to trust anyone and she's so guarded and cold now that even if I did see her again, she would never even give me a chance to apologize. And you know what? I don't blame her for it because I don't deserve a second chance with her."

"My god, you're completely pussy whipped! You haven't gotten over her at all and yet you preach to me about moving on with my life? You are such a hypocrite!"

"At least I know when to back off and stop pursuing MY unrequited love. You're still chasing after Darien like some deranged stalker!"

Beryl got up from the couch and threw her hands up in the air as if to say 'I give up!'

"Look, obviously you're too much of a coward to go after what you want. After all, you gave up on the girl and you gave up on ever having a real relationship with Emerald! But unlike you, I am NOT a coward and I DON'T give up until I get what I want. Now I am going out to get what I want. You can sit here like some faithful dog and wait for Emerald to come home and use you like a piece of meat for all I care! But if by some miracle you suddenly grow some balls and decide that you want to get Serena back, you know how to reach me!"

As soon as she left Devon breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't threatened to expose his secret. In fact, she had acted as if she genuinely wanted to help him win Serena back. This was what puzzled him the most; Beryl was rarely kind and she never helped anyone unless it would benefit her in some way. So what would she possibly gain from helping him? What sick and twisted game was she playing? And why had she chosen HIM to be her pawn? Well, it didn't matter what she was planning because there was no way that HE would agree to be a part of it. For all he knew Beryl wanted him to destroy Serena all over again; and he would not do that for anything, not even if she blackmailed him.

Serena set her shopping bags down on her very unmade bed. She smiled at the sight of it, remembering all the fun she and Darien had had messing it up for the past several days and nights. "It's amazing how happy he has made me feel since we first agreed to become exclusive. I feel like I did when I was a giggling teenager dreaming of her prince charming. I thought I would never have that feeling again." She thought out loud as she dumped out the contents of her bags. Digging through the pile of new clothes she found the one item she was most anxious to wear that night. It was a pink satin nightie that came down to mid thigh and had a triangle cut bodice outlined with lace. It had a pair of matching silk panties with ribbon ties at the sides and a hint of lace on the waistband. Serena had picked out the design herself and had them custom made by Trista. Amara had been shocked when Serena walked into the boutique a few days ago with a smile on her face. Michelle on the other hand had simply smiled knowingly and commented that she knew Serena wouldn't stay away from 'that young man' for very long. All three women had been very interested to know who this young man was that made the girl they thought of as their little sister feel like she was walking on air. Amara threatened to hunt him down and ensure that he could never have children if he ever hurt Serena; which of course caused Michelle to smack her girlfriend and tell her not to say such things. Trista had been lost in thought for a few moments as if she was trying to put together some big and complicated puzzle. Finally she had told Serena that she would design the perfect 'outfit' for her date with her new lover and that it would be a gift from her to Serena "Don't be silly. You're like a little sister to me and I'm long overdue for many birthday and Christmas presents!" she had said when Serena tried to pay her.

"Wow, Darien's going to love this!" she exclaimed as she held the nightie up to her chest and glanced in the mirror.

"Yeah, but I think he's gonna like it even more when he gets to take it off of you." Mina said as she stood in the doorway. Serena spun around. "Mina! Don't sneak up on me like that." Her cousin approached the bed and began to look through the pile of clothes. "Hey, I knew I lived with you for a reason! You've got an awesome collection here Sere! Mind if I borrow this?" She held up a blue camisole top with lace outlining the triangles of the bodice. " No, just be sure to bring it back before the weekend and let ME wash it since I need to use special soap AND wash it by hand." Serena replied. "You're way too picky about washing your clothes Sere. I'm sure it's machine washable." Serena rolled her eyes. "Yes, you say that about everything though, and that's why my clothes ALWAYS look brand new and yours end up all faded and worn out after about six months." Mina stuck her tongue out before continuing her search for more clothes she could borrow.

"You really have a theme going here Sere. Everything in here is either lacy or has a silky feel to it. If I had to guess, I would say that you're dressing to seduce a certain new boyfriend of yours." A certain piece of clothing caught her eye. "And judging by THIS little number, I'd say I was right. She held up a pink lace camisole that left little to the imagination and matching lace panties with ties at the sides. "What did you do, buy everything in Trista's store until there was nothing left?" Serena snatched the garments away from her and couldn't help but blush. "I didn't buy THAT much, I just got what I thought he'd like to see me in. And besides, didn't YOU just place a huge order to Trista to make everything in the Venus Collection in gold especially for you to be delivered before the end of this month?" This time it was Mina's turn to blush. "Well, yeah. But I've always been Trista's number one customer. You never even bothered to get anything custom made, and judging by the stuff here I KNOW that it's not simply off the rack. You're really serious about Darien aren't you?"

"I am. I know I tried to fight it and I know that I shouldn't be so quick to fall for him, but damn it I have fallen for him. And I've fallen so hard that I can't even see straight when I'm around him. Gods Mina, I think I might be falling in love with him."

"There's no MIGHT, Sere, you ARE falling in love with him. I've seen it in your eyes and I see the way you look at him. You're a very trusting person and you've always been one to fall in love at first sight. But this is the first time since Devon that you've actually let yourself feel this way instead of running away the second you sensed that spark."

"To be fair, I DID try to run away." Serena reminded her. Mina chuckled. "Yes, but this time Cupid refused to let you dodge the arrow and he shot you right in the ass the second you let your guard down. I'm just so glad that it happened with Darien and not some other guy. I checked with Kevin and he told me that Darien truly cares about you. In fact, you're all he could talk about for weeks after he first saw you at the club and he was determined to win you over after you officially 'met' at the party. Something tells me that he's serious about you and he's not going to screw up and need to surgically remove my foot from his ass."

Serena smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that Mina. But if he does end up breaking my heart, I give you permission to torture him in any way you please for as long as you want."

Mina grinned. "Hey, that's what I'm here for!"

Serena made her way toward the park where Darien had told her to meet him. She was wearing a pink camisole top and a flowing black skirt decorated with a pattern of little white and pink flowers. Underneath this outfit was the lacy lingerie Mina had commented on earlier that day. As she walked down the sidewalk a sudden chill went through her and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She shrugged it off and continued through the parking lot and made her way to the entrance of the park. Suddenly she heard the sound of clicking stilettos against the pavement, and they were definitely not hers since they were nicely tucked away in her overnight bag along with the other surprises she had for Darien tonight. She debated whether or not to turn around and just as she was about to, the person that had been following her grabbed her and pushed her violently against the wall of a nearby building.

She cried out in alarm as her attacker spun her around, forcing her to stare into the angry green eyes of the red headed girl she had seen at Andrew's party and outside Molly's jewelry store. "What do YOU want?" Serena asked; trying to act like the girl hadn't scared the crap out of her.

"It's more a matter of WHO I want. You're Serena Tsukino, the new girlfriend of Darien Shields, am I right?" she glared menacingly at Serena as if she was a bug that needed to be squashed quickly. Serena shrugged. "Maybe, what business of it is yours?"

The red head glared at her. "EVERYTHING concerning Darien Shields is my business Little Girl. Perhaps you don't realize who you are dealing with. Allow me to enlighten you, my name is Beryl Storms and I'm the woman whose man you've stolen."

Of all the things she had expected Beryl to say, this was definitely not on the list. She couldn't find a single thing to say to such a comment, so she did the only thing she could think of. She laughed.

Beryl was not at all pleased with this little brat for laughing at her. "Hahaha! You…you think that Darien and you are….hehehehe. Oh my god you're so…delusional!" Serena said through fits of laughter. Beryl growled and shoved the girl against the wall again. This time though, Serena fought back and managed to grab Beryl's arm and twist it painfully so that now SHE was the one with her back to the wall. "Don't try that again, Beryl." Serena warned. "You don't know who you're dealing with." Beryl spat out in a venomous tone. "Yes, yes, I already got that part. Look, I know what you're trying to do. You think you can trick me into thinking that Darien is a two-timer so that I leave him and you can swoop in and take him. But too bad for you, cuz I know all about that game. Hell, I've even played that game a few times in the past just for fun. You tell me I don't know who I'm dealing with, but you're so very wrong. I know your type, ok? You think that you can have any man you want and you manipulate and lie to get what you want. Well it's not going to work this time so I suggest you go find some other guy and make his life a living hell cuz I ain't buying what you're selling me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date."

"Yeah, I know. It's with MY man!" Beryl snarled.

Serena smiled sweetly at her, aggravating Beryl even more. "If he's yours, then why is he with me and not you?" Beryl watched as Serena turned on her heel and left for the park to meet Darien. Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits and she was shaking with rage. 'She thinks she can get away with this. She thinks she can just swoop in and snatch away my prize and then mock me when I confront her. And to think I was just going to give her a warning and hope that she would leave him out of fear. Well, if the little bitch wants a fight then I'll give her one.' She turned on her heel just as Serena had done seconds before and made her way back to her apartment. Serena's cruel laughter filled her head, causing her to become angrier with each step. 'I'll get you for this Serena. You will rue the day you ever messed with me, and then I'll be the one who has the last laugh!'

Serena breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she reached her destination. 'That bitch was crazy! I feel sorry for Darien. Nobody deserves to be on that bitch's radar, especially not MY boyfriend. I can't believe she actually thought she could trick me into thinking that she was his girlfriend. I know he used to sleep around, but there's no way he'd ever hook up with a psycho like her.' She sat down on a nearby bench to wait for Darien. After a few minutes of watching the boats on the lake, she felt someone cover her eyes and knew instantly that it was Darien.

"Guess who?" He purred into her ear. Serena giggled and pretended that she didn't know it was him.

"Brad Pitt? Orlando Bloom? The Absolute Hunk from Sex and the City? Hmmm…maybe you're that hottie who was checking me out in the parking lot…"

"No, no and definitely no!" Darien replied, sounding just a little bit jealous.

"No? Hmmm, then I guess you're that really hot and romantic guy that puts the others to shame."

"Oh, and who might this guy be?" Darien asked, playing along.

"Oh he's the most romantic guy I've ever known and the second I look into his gorgeous blue eyes I want to melt in his strong arms. And when he kisses me I nearly come undone in his arms…"

"Wow, this guy you speak of sounds like an amazing lover."

"Oh, he is. In fact, I'm supposed to be meeting him here right now. I wonder what's taking him so long. Just thinking about all the things he could have planned for us tonight just makes me so very amorous. If he doesn't get here soon, I may have to jump you instead…"

"Hey!" Darien protested, taking his hands off of her eyes. Serena giggled and looked up into his eyes.

"Oh don't act so offended! I knew it was you the whole time Darien. Did you honestly think I would talk that way to a complete stranger?"

Darien joined her on the bench and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. "I would hope not since I don't flirt with anybody else now that I have you. Did you miss me?" Serena nodded her head and kissed him hungrily. Darien eagerly responded and drew her down onto the bench. He sucked her bottom lip as his hands slid from her shoulders down to her arms and then back up again, teasing her. Serena groaned and pressed her body against his, trembling with desire. Her mind was starting to go out the window and passion began to take control over her. Darien kissed the corner of her jaw, causing her to moan. Serena would have eagerly allowed him to make love to her right there on the bench, but she knew that getting arrested for indecent exposure and not to mention having sex in a VERY public place would quickly cool her ardor. She pulled away slightly to put at least SOME distance between them and said in a voice still heavy with desire "We can't do this here."

Darien grinned. "A little public display doesn't light your fire, Sere?" Serena gave him a playful smack on his shoulder and gently pushed him off of her so that they were once again sitting on the bench as opposed to lying on it. "I think we've displayed enough and if we displayed any more we might just get arrested." Serena noticed the naughty look in his eyes and knew that he was still thinking with the wrong head. "Darien, stop picturing me in handcuffs and sprawled on your bed!"

"Serena, that's impossible right now. You have the right to remain sexy. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of sex. If you cannot afford a sex-tourney…" Serena smacked him again before he could finish anymore of that sentence.

"Ow!" He protested, rubbing his head where she had smacked him. "You felt that right? That's the head I want you to start thinking with now! You can think with the other one later when we're back in the bedroom."

"Is that an invitation?" Darien purred, leaning in so close to her ear that Serena felt the stirrings of desire begin to resurface. She pulled away before she could give in to his charms again. "And you need to stop doing that too! God, don't you know how much you can turn me on?" Darien pretended to be hurt by her rejection. "Don't you want me anymore?" Serena just rolled her eyes. "Of course I do! But I also want you to take me on that date you promised me, so if you plan on getting lucky tonight you better start winning me over now!"

Darien stood up and held out his hand for Serena. "Fair enough, we'll start our date right now. Come on, your surprise awaits." Serena took his hand and allowed him to pull her up from the bench. "So where is this surprise?" she asked, a little excited. This was, after all, their one month anniversary and she was dying to know what he had planned for tonight. "You'll see, but I'm going to have to ask you to trust me." Serena looked at him confused. "But I already trust you, Darien." Darien smiled. "Then if you trust me, close your eyes and take my hand." She did as he asked and he led her away from the bench. Serena wandered through what felt like a maze with Darien leading her. "Can I open my eyes yet?" she asked this several times and every time they would stop and Darien would kiss her hand once before saying "Not yet, it's just a bit further." Just as Serena was beginning to think that they'd never get there, Darien told her to stop walking and then he picked her up and carried her a short distance before setting her down on something that felt like a blanket. She could hear the sound of running water and was curious to know where they were. "Can I open my eyes yet?" She asked, hoping that he would say yes. "Not yet. Just sit here for a moment." Darien replied. Serena sighed. A few feet away she hear the rustling of a shrub and the snip of a stem being cut. Darien approached the blanket and sat down beside Serena. Something soft and smooth touched the side of her face and slowly moved down her neck, causing Serena to shiver in reaction. "Okay, you can open your eyes now." Darien said softly, still sliding the soft object over the thin skin of her neck.

Serena slowly opened her eyes and gasped at what she saw. "Oh my god Darien, it's breathtaking." -( I need help with a good description here)- They were in a clearing surrounded by rose bushes with a fountain in the middle. "You like it?" Darien asked, tracing the soft thing which she now saw to be a single red rose over her cheek. "I love it. I've always loved roses, but I never told anyone that. How did you know?"

"I didn't, actually. I found this spot about a year ago and I knew that if I ever found someone that I truly cared about, that I would bring her here." Darien replied as he handed Serena the rose. She blushed and took it from him. "So how many girls did you bring up here then?" Serena asked. "Actually, none. I never found anyone that I could really see myself falling for."

"Until me." Serena said softly, touched that he would bring her to his special place.

"Until you." Darien affirmed, brushing a loose strand of blonde hair away from Serena's face. "Have I told you how happy I am to have you as my girlfriend?" He whispered, running his fingertips slowly down the side of her neck. Serena nodded. "Every day since we first got together, Darien, but I'll never tire of hearing it." She giggled lightly as Darien took her hand in his and slowly brought it to his lips, kissing it softly. "My beautiful Serena, I'll never tire of saying it."

Serena pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Darien, can we skip dinner and have dessert first?" She purred as she slowly leaned into him and lightly flicked her little pink tongue out to tease his earlobe. Darien pulled away, trying to get control over his raging desire for her. "But we haven't even touched dinner yet. Aren't you even the slightest bit hungry?" Darien noticed the playful look in her eyes and knew that it would take all the will power he had not to give in to his little minx.

"I'm hungry…for you!" Serena purred, licking her lips and playfully sliding the strap of her camisole off her shoulder. 'Oh great, she's found even more ways to tempt me. Gods, that top is just barely covering her breasts now and I can see her nipples hardening through that thin piece of cloth…I want her. I want her, I…need to stop picturing her with her clothes off. I'm supposed to be romancing her first. I need to show her that I'm serious about courting her and that I'm not just lusting after her.'

"Oh Darien…"Serena said in a soft and melodious voice as she slipped the other strap off her shoulder. "Oops, looks like my clothes just don't want to stay on. Guess you'll just have to take them off and ravish me…" Darien groaned and placed his hands on her shoulders. Serena licked her lips and awaited his fiery kisses with hot anticipation. "I knew you couldn't resist…" Her eyes widened in surprise as Darien slipped the straps back onto her shoulders and pulled away. "Sorry love, but I promised you a romantic evening and I don't plan to ravish you until the end of the date." He opened his back pack and pulled out the contents, placing everything on the blanket in front of them.

Serena watched as Darien laid out the food and couldn't help but smile in amusement. "What?" Darien asked, noticing the look on her face. "You brought me pizza and a bottle of Sprite."

"Yeah, but it's your favorite and you know my culinary skills still need major improvement!" Serena giggled again. "You are just so cute. Darien, I was only teasing you. I think it's totally romantic and I love that you packed our favorite dinner."

"Really?" He asked her.

"Really! Now let's eat! I'm starving!" Darien couldn't help but smile at that.

Temptress Kitten: Sorry guys, no love scene for you today. I can't seem to come up with anything terribly romantic right now because I'm in a major guy dry spell and I'm fed up with dealing with all the stupid boys in my age bracket of 19-22. All they seem to want to do is party all the time, drink themselves stupid and hit on women. None of the guys I meet want a real relationship and I grew out of that whole 'girls just wanna have fun' phase a month after I turned 19. So if my one romance scene in this chapter seems a little rushed and impersonal, it's cuz I've sorta lost faith in ever finding true love.


	15. Chapter 12

Toxic Love 

Chapter 12

Temptress Kitten 17

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Sailor Moon so don't sue me! Please, for the love of Selene don't sue! I have nothing worth taking anyway, unless you want the property rights to all the losers I've dated…and those you can have without spending the money on a lawyer to take them from me. I'm also a college student with a bunch of student loan payments in the future, so I'm pretty much broke. It'd be a waste of money and time to sue me.

"I love you too," she said, her baby blue eyes glistening with tears of happiness. He kissed her then, her lips feeling like satin and tasting like strawberries and cream. He loved how she would always apply a flavored lip gloss to those beautiful lips of hers. Her skin was soft as flower petals and even smelled like them due to the light perfume she had a habit of wearing. He flicked out his tongue to taste her, running it along the corner of her jaw slowly. She shivered in reaction, letting out a little gasp of pleasure every time he hit a hot spot.

His hands moved to the straps of her white sundress and slowly slipped them off her shoulders, his lips brushing over her collarbone as he slipped the straps further down her arms, baring the creamy breast hidden beneath the white lace of her bra. She didn't stop him when his fingers expertly undid the clasp, nor did she pull away when he lowered his head to taste the newly bared skin there. She was heaven, pure and innocent; a golden angel in white lace about to give herself to the devil himself. He knew he didn't deserve her, but he wanted her anyway. He did everything in his power to pleasure her, delighting in her cries as she experienced her first orgasm, not counting the ones she may have had when she was alone.

When he entered her she let out a small whimper of pain and he kissed her softly, refusing to move until she was ready for it, even though his body greatly protested. She rocked her hips, bringing him deeper into her velvet heat and clamping down on him with muscles he hadn't thought she knew how to use. She came once more and he followed soon afterward, pouring his seed into the latex sheath he wore.

As they dressed, he discreetly hid her lace panties inside his jacket pocket and pretended that he had no idea where they were. She quickly gave up the search, deciding that her dress was long enough to hide the fact that she wore nothing under it. He took her home and kissed her goodnight before going to his own house where another blond woman would be waiting for him. He would sleep with her as well, but he wouldn't enjoy it; not after he had just made love to Serena. Tomorrow he would tie up all the lose ends of his old life as the school playboy and then he would finally change his ways and be worthy of the golden angel...

Devon sat up and turned his head to look at the blond sleeping beside him. He searched his memory for her name, but he couldn't remember it. That was how it was every night and the girls in his bed were always blond; and no matter who they were, to him, they were all named Serena. Even when it was Emerald bouncing around in his bed, he would be thinking about his innocent blond angel; the one he had wounded deeply in the past. Beryl had promised him that Serena could be his once again; a cruel lie in order to get what she wanted. 'What's worse?' he thought as he slipped out of bed and searched for his black boxer shorts. 'That Beryl is trying to manipulate me into being a pawn in one of her sick little games by promising me Serena, or that her tactics are actually working?'

The blond girl chose that moment to wake up from her nap. She sat up slightly, still lying on her side and tossed her long hair over her shoulders so that all her creamy skin was revealed to him once more. "Don't tell me you're done already Baby. After all, I'm just getting warmed up." She purred, patting his side of the bed in an invitation for him to come join her again. Devon glanced over at her in half interest. The bed sheet fell to her waist, revealing to him perfect breasts and creamy skin, a sight no straight man could resist. But those men were not him, and Devon only wanted one woman right now and she was not lying naked in his bed. "Sorry…?" he started to say as he searched his memory for the girl's name. "Callie." She finished for him, just a little bit irritated. "It's Callie." Devon only nodded. "Right, Callie. I knew that." Callie sighed and untangled herself from his expensive black sheets. "Look, you don't have to pretend to care. I'm not one of those pathetic women who fall to pieces after a guy rejects her."

She dressed quickly, not at all fazed by Devon's rejection. Callie Adams was never surprised anymore, and the part of her that cared had died after half a dozen one night stands; she'd lost count after that. It wasn't as if she'd planned to sleep with that many guys; at one point she had been just like every other hopelessly romantic young woman. She used to dream about princes and white knights on horses that would sweep her off her feet and then they'd live happily ever after; and then she made the mistake of falling for the first 'knight' who professed his undying love for her; an old friend of hers from childhood, Danny. She lost her virginity to him a few months before her eighteenth birthday and afterward she had clung to the hope that one day they would get married. But after a few months the love buzz started to wear off and Callie began to sense that he wasn't as in love with her as he'd said. Maybe that's why it was so easy for her to forgive herself for sleeping with Darien Shields those few times while she was still with Danny. Darien had made her feel sexy and wanted even though she knew it was just sex between them. She'd known Darien for a while and even developed a crush on him at one point, but that was all he really was to her; a crush. One night they were just sitting in the apartment that he shared with one of his best friends. Darien was still getting over Saori and Callie had just realized that Danny's love for her was fading away. Somehow she and Darien ended up in bed, taking comfort in each other.

They both kept it a secret and Callie spent that year trying to turn her relationship with Danny into something it wasn't; and when she was discouraged or feeling neglected she would call Darien. She ended her affair with him just before she ended her relationship with Danny, deciding that she would not sleep with anyone else until she was sure that he loved her. But she couldn't help but fall into old patterns and now at the age of twenty-one she had already slept with ten men, all of them leaving her the second they got bored. She'd come to expect it by now and so when they did leave, she didn't feel any sadness because of it. And she didn't feel any sadness now, even as she walked to the door of Devon's apartment. It was obvious that he wasn't quite over the girl he was in love with, she'd come to recognize the signs after being with so many other guys on the rebound. At least the sex was good. She glanced over her shoulder to look at Devon one last time before opening the door and slipping on her beaded sandals. "I hope you find her." She said, causing Devon to look up. "What?" he asked. Callie smiled softly. "You're not over her yet, I can tell. If you believe that she's the one, then you should go to her."

Devon sat in silence for a few minutes, pondering over what Callie had said. Could Serena really be 'the one'? Devon normally didn't believe in crap like that, but somehow Callie's words kept echoing in his head. It was true that he wasn't over Serena, hell, he didn't think he would ever get over her; but would she really forgive him and give him another chance? He could just see himself standing on her doorstep with a large bouquet of white and red roses and making some big proclamation of undying love. And then some guy who REALLY deserves her would answer the door and introduce himself as her fiancé. After all, Serena was a college woman now and it was very likely that she was already involved with someone.

"Damn, if I had just listened to what my heart was telling me instead of acting like such a prick, Serena and I might have been engaged by now." He lamented as he grabbed his black leather wallet from out of the pocket of his discarded jeans. Devon flipped it open and began to look through the contents; pulling out spare condoms, credit cards and everything else that was not of importance to him at the moment. Finally he found what he had been looking for. The picture was creased and crumpled from being shoved into his wallet too many times and the sides had curled and ripped a bit, but he still considered it to be his most valuable possession. In the picture, a younger Serena sat on his lap with his leather jacket draped over her shoulders. She wore a lacy white sundress and her long blonde hair was tied back with a pink ribbon. The younger Devon was smiling down at her with adoration and his hands were about her waist in a loving caress. Scott had taken that photo for him during his eighteenth birthday party, about a month after he'd first started dating Serena. It was at that exact moment when he had first realized that he was falling for her, but pride had prevented him from ending the bet and in the very end, he hadn't won anything except the knowledge that he had been the one to take her virginity.

Lost in his deep and brooding thoughts, he never noticed the door to his apartment open, nor did he hear the clicking of red high heels across the floor making their way to where he sat in his room. The blonde woman took in the sight of him, clad in only his boxers and staring longingly at a frayed and crumpled photo, and her grip tightened on the handle of her overnight bag until her knuckles turned white. It was evidently clear by the look on his face as he stared at the picture, that her worst fears had just been confirmed; Devon had never truly gotten over her. Her perfectly manicured nails began to dig painfully into her skin as she gripped the bag tighter, trying not to erupt in a fit of blind rage. She could very easily have walked out of the place without getting into another shouting match with her ex, however pride caused her to stay put and confront him.

"You are such a fucking liar!" She glared down at him, green eyes boring angrily into his. Devon remained nonchalant as he rose up from his place on the floor and threw on his jeans and black tee-shirt. "I don't know what you're talking about, Em." He said, reaching for the photo that was lying facedown on the carpet. But Emerald was too quick for him and before he could even blink, she snatched it away and turned it over to reveal the happy little scene from his eighteenth birthday; the only party she HADN'T been invited to. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" she asked in an almost sing-song voice, as if she was talking to a child. She glanced over the picture with interest before meeting his eyes once more, all pretend sweetness leaving her at once. She stood before him glaring icy daggers at him, daring him to speak. "So what is this Devon? Too lazy to clean out your wallet even though it's been two years since high school? I mean, why else would you be carrying around a picture of you and your ex?" She made a gesture with her hands to indicate that she was using quotation marks around the word 'ex'. She didn't seem to notice, or maybe she just didn't care, when Devon flinched, as if the words had somehow hurt him. "Because why else would you keep a picture of her in your wallet when it is so clearly OVER between the two of you?"

Devon shrugged, feigning innocence. "I don't know, Em. I just found that picture now while I was cleaning out my wallet. You know how much of a pack rat I can be, especially since I don't have servants to clean up after me anymore."

"Don't lie to me! I saw you, Devon! I saw you staring at this picture like some lovesick schoolboy! You swore to me that you were over her, that it was just some temporary insanity! And I actually BELIEVED you!" She was shouting now, unable to stop the tears of anger and betrayal from forming in her eyes; but she did not dare let them spill onto her cheeks.

"You know what, you're right Emerald. I'm NOT over Serena; I'll probably NEVER get over her! She's the only woman I've ever loved in my entire life and if it wasn't for your stupid little bet, we would probably be married and planning a family by now! So yeah, I keep her picture in my wallet because I still want her. But I wouldn't expect you to understand, because you've never been in love and I don't even know if you're capable of it!"

Emerald fought back the tears that threatened to fall. "Is that what you think, Devon; that I've never been in love? Then what the hell do you call the feelings I had for you back in high school? Do you think I would have ever taken you back after being with HER if I didn't love you? Do you think I would be standing here right now with an overnight bag in my hands if I didn't still want to be with you even after all this time? No, you're too busy pining for the one that got away, the fantasy girl that doesn't even exist anymore! She's NOT the same girl you claim to love and she's NOT in love with you. In fact, a very reliable source told me that she's not even thinking about you because she's too busy being in love with her boyfriend to worry about the past."

The idea that Serena was in fact already happily dating someone else stabbed at his heart like a poisoned dagger. "You lie." He growled. Emerald shrugged. "If you don't believe me, then see for yourself!" She tossed a small digital camera phone at him. "So now you're spying on my ex girlfriends?" He asked incredulously as he flipped through all the pictures saved on Emerald's phone. There were a few of Viola making out with Rick as well as candid images of some other friends of both Emerald and Beryl kissing guys who were definitely not their boyfriends. There were quite a few of them that were making out with Devon, which annoyed him somewhat that Emerald had the nerve to spy on him. The last few images were the ones that he could tell she most wanted him to see; Serena with a dark haired young man that Devon recognized from somewhere but couldn't quite remember where or when. She had filled out a little bit more since high school and cruelly enough she had done so in all the right places. She now had a small hour glass figure and her bra had to have gone up a cup size. She had also cut her hair so that it fell just past her shoulders, but the one thing that caught his attention more than her gorgeous figure and long blonde hair was the huge smile on her face and the sparkle in her eyes as she looked into the face of her new lover.

It was obvious to Devon that Emerald was getting great pleasure out of all of this. She had that smug expression on her face and her arms were loosely crossed over her waist as if she was trying to suppress her gleeful and cruel laughter. "She doesn't even think about you anymore, you know. In fact, I heard that after she got her first real taste of pure uninhibited lust, she couldn't get enough of it and started to fuck every guy with a pulse. That is, until that party at Andrew's place last month. Wow, that was some party you missed out on; apparently, your precious Serena was on a man hunt and she caught herself a real stallion. And now, she and Darien Shields are quite the sickeningly cute couple and oh, what's that I hear? Perhaps it's the sound of wedding bells and gurgling babies in the near future!" This time she did laugh and Devon suppressed every urge to wipe that smug look off her face. "Looks like you missed your chance to bed her one last time!"

"Shut up, Em." He said, using his old pet name for her. "You really have a knack for kicking a guy in the balls while he's down!"

"And YOU have a knack for being an absolute prick to the women who want you! Personally, I think the girl is better off without you. I mean, what did you really offer her besides pain and even more pain? This isn't about wanting her back; it was never about wanting her. You know what I think it's about?"

"No, but I have a feeling that you're just going to tell me anyway."

Emerald pretended that she hadn't heard him. "I think that you just wanted to hide from who you really are and you want to use her to do it. You don't really want her, you just want her purity to somehow rub off on you and then maybe, just maybe, you'll be cleansed of all the bad things you did in the past and it will all be okay. But let me tell you something, people can't change who they are. If you did manage to get her to fall in love with you, you would only hurt her in the end; because that's what you're good at."

"No, you're wrong. I love her because…"

"Because she's pure and sweet and full of life, am I right?" Emerald finished for him. When he didn't reply, she nodded to herself. "That's what I thought. It was all about the innocence for you; the illusion of redemption. News flash: There is no such thing as redemption; not for you, not for anyone. We are who we are and no innocent schoolgirl's love will ever change that."

"Right, because you're SUCH an expert in that subject." Devon rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I am. I know just a little bit more about life than you do and I've learned that people like us don't change overnight, if at all. And people like her will never be able to accept us or love us the way we would like them to. They don't trust us enough to love us that way. Even if you never touch another woman in your life, even if you profess your undying love and devotion to her, a part of her will always worry that you're being unfaithful. And chances are, one day you will be. You and I, we're so very alike in so many ways. We both understand that sometimes cheating is inevitable and we give in to our baser animal instincts. We are not the type to become domesticated! Your only problem is that you refuse to accept the truth! But hey, nothing I tell you is going to make any difference to you is it? Because you still want her even though she'll never want you. Tell me I'm wrong about that."

"I can't." Devon replied coldly.

Emerald sighed. "Of course you can't. You can't seem to see what's right in front of you, nor do you care to notice those who want you. Well, if I can't convince you, maybe she can." Emerald took the phone out of Devon's hands, the screen still depicting the image of Serena and Darien feeding each other ice cream in the window booth at the ice cream parlor. "They look so cute together, don't they? And to think that once upon a time she used to be with you…"

"Is there a reason why you're still here or do you just love to torture me?"

Emerald shrugged. "Well, I was going to tell you how you could TRY to get her back, but if you're not interested…"

"Okay, what are you playing at now?" Devon asked suspiciously. Emerald never volounteered to help anyone if there was no personal gain and she was offering to give him SERENA; a girl he knew she loathed with every fiber of her being.

"I'm not playing at anything. It just so happens that I know where Serena is and I could set up a time where you can 'accidentally' run into her. Then, she can tell you that there is no chance of you two ever getting back together and you'll finally have the closure you need to move on with your life. And once you have that closure, I won't have to hear about her ever again. So, do you want my help or not?" She began to tap her foot impatiently. After a few minutes of silence from Devon, he finally nodded his head. "Okay, I do. I don't know what sick little game you're trying to play, but I do know that I would rather go along with it than miss the opportunity to see Serena again."

Emerald smiled to herself. "Very well, I'll tell you what; I'll set something up and call you on your cel phone when it's time to meet her, ok?"

"But, you said that you knew where she lived, can't you just give me the address?" Devon asked, almost hopeful that she would give it to him.

"Sweetheart, If you simply showed up at her place, you'd be met with a heartfelt restraining order!" Emerald purred, turning toward the exit. "Don't worry, I promise you'll get to see her by the end of the week."

Emerald walked out of Devon's apartment feeling quite smug. So far, things were going just the way she had planned and Devon was unaware that he was merely a pawn in her game; a useful pawn, but still a pawn. She made her way down the steps and outside, opening the passenger door to the black car still parked at the side of the building.

"Well?" the driver of the vehicle asked once Emerald was in the passenger seat.

"So far, the plan is working perfectly B! Devon, clueless as he is, doesn't suspect a thing!"

"I knew you could pull it off Emerald. You've always been the best when it comes to manipulating people into doing what you want."

Emerald chuckled to herself. "I've also been the best actress when it comes to tricking people into doing what I want. Devon thinks that our little plan to get him to meet up with Serena has everything to do with me trying to prove a point. It was so easy that I felt almost cheap when he gave in so quickly. I really was expecting him to question my motives a LITTLE bit more before trusting me."

"Well I must say I'm impressed Em. Truthfully, I didn't think your plan would work at first, but the more I think about it the more I realize that you truly are ingenious. But now that we've already come up with a way to momentarily distract Serena, we need to figure out how I can get to Darien."

Emerald merely smiled and pulled a small key from out of her purse. Beryl's face lit up when she noticed it. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked. "You mean, is this the key to Darien's place?" Beryl took it from Emerald's hands and admired it. "How did you manage to get this?" Emerald shrugged. "It was easy; not as easy as it was to get Devon to 'help' us, but still easy. I happen to have a few friends who work at the only key-cutting place in town and guess who happened to drop by and request a copy of his key be made for a new girlfriend?"

"Darien."

"The one and only! So, in return for my doing one of them a favor, my friends cut an extra key just for me with Darien being none the wiser! Of course, I had to pay them for their service to me…about a couple hundred each. My purse has never been so empty."

"I'll reimburse you for your troubles Em. You don't have to worry about that, ok? So now that we have the key, what's next?"

"You go after Darien of course! And if all goes according to plan--and Devon doesn't screw up royally--Serena and Darien will be ancient history by the end of the week!"

"I do love the way you think Emerald!" Beryl said as she started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot. 'Soon Darien will be all mine, and there's nothing that little bitch can do to stop me…not that she'll want to once she sees Darien's true colors.'


	16. Chapter 13: I'm so sorry for this one!

Toxic Love

TemptressKitten17

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

Author's Note: If you are under the age of eighteen then you are reading this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for what happens if your parents catch you reading this or if the content in my story corrupts your innocent minds. You have been warned.

Okay, I know I said I wasn't going to put out a new chapter until I fixed the old ones, but to hell with it! I want this part of the story told now, because today happens to seriously suck! They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, well how about a woman who hasn't had any decent action in over a year? I know there are worse things in life. But dammit, there is this super fine guy in my class and I want him so badly and yet I haven't gotten him yet. Not to mention that as of writing this, it is Valentine's Day and I HATE this day on the principle of the fact that it is a constant reminder of what I'm not getting tonight. So if the chapter appears to have skipped ahead several months in the story, just accept it for now and go back and read the revised chapters later on. Besides, it's the principle of the story that really matters at the moment, not the minute details. So read on and try not to send me hate mail for what I am about to do to a certain couple you all love. By the way, this chapter will also be revised later. This is just a rough draft to get things moving again, and also to make me feel better. Deal with it, I hate this day and consequently my inspiration for this chapter is at its peak!

Chapter 13: Happy Birthday, Darien

Devon glanced impatiently at the digital numbers displayed on his cell phone. 9:30. She was already half an hour late for their meeting. Agitated, he ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He didn't like having to wait, especially when _she_ had been the one to insist that they meet this early. Devon really didn't understand why Emerald was suddenly taking an interest in helping him get Serena; just a few nights ago she had chewed him out for still carrying a torch for the girl and now she was going out of her way to help him get back in touch with Serena. If he was honest with himself, he knew that she had some sort of ulterior motive. But just thinking about his beautiful blonde angel with that other guy was enough for him to ignore that feeling. If Emerald had a plan, he didn't care. As long as he could see Serena again, nothing else really mattered. Devon jumped slightly as the phone buzzed in his hands. That's right, he thought, I put the stupid thing on vibrate. He flipped it open and was immediately greeted by the conspiratorially soft voice of his ex girlfriend and current fling.

"Where are you?"

Devon chuckled. "I should be the one asking that question, Em. After all, you told me to meet you here at 9am and it's now 9:30!"

"I never told you to meet _me_ at the café. I just told you to go there."

"My mistake. I assumed that you were going to tell me where to find Serena today."

"And I did! If you would just open your damn eyes and look around you, you would figure that out!"

Devon glanced toward the open door of the café and his heart skipped a beat. There she was, dressed in a sexy white sundress and sipping a strawberry frappuccino topped with whipped cream. Beside her on another chair was a shopping bag no doubt containing some sexy lingerie, due to the fact that _Trista's Satin and Lace Boutique _was written in script on the sides of it. She was even more breathtaking than he remembered her to be.

"Serena…" he almost whispered.

Emerald chuckled. "You're welcome. Now don't ever ask me for a favor again. And don't screw this up, because I won't be so generous next time!" She hung up before he could reply.

"Well?" Beryl asked, pulling the sash of her flesh colored trench coat tighter as Emerald pulled the black car away from the curb outside of the café.

"She's there, just like Lilah said she would be."

"Well of course _Serena_ is there, Lilah's been stalking her now for over a month. I was talking about your boyfriend."

"He's not my…"

"Boyfriend, Fuck toy, whatever you want to call it, I don't care. All I want to know is if he's there distracting that little blonde tramp!"

"Don't worry, he's there too!"

"Good, because this plan _must_ go off without any complications. And by complications, I mean your boy suddenly turning chicken shit."

"I got that."

Emerald turned the car onto 1st street, where Darien's apartment building was located, and once the car was parked she turned to Beryl. "Okay, so what do I do now? Do I wait for you, or are you just going to call a cab or something?"

Beryl added the finishing touches to her make up. She smacked her red lips together, ensuring that her lipstick was applied evenly. "If all goes as planned, Em, I won't be leaving at all!"

Emerald rolled her eyes, beginning to doubt the effectiveness of Beryl's plan. "Are you absolutely certain this will work, though. I mean, according to our valuable and reliable sources, Darien only has eyes for Serena these days."

Beryl sniffed. "It worked in that movie we saw, didn't it?"

"You didn't actually see the end of it, did you?"

"What's to see? He got caught with his ex and his current girl ran out of the apartment in tears. The End!"

"Uh huh, right. Okay, have fun!" Emerald said quickly, unlocking the passenger side door.

Beryl stepped out of the car, her black stilettos clicking on the pavement. She turned back toward the car. "Wait, what happened at the end of the movie then?"

Emerald smiled her fake smile. "It's not important, B, just make sure you get there in time! Good luck!"

"Yeah." She shut the car door and turned toward the building where Darien lived, fingering the small metal key in her hands. "It's showtime!" she said to herself.

Serena was sipping away at her strawberry frappuccino, savoring the sweet taste of the whipped crème. She couldn't believe how quickly she had finished shopping, especially since she thought she would take forever to pick out the right birthday present for Darien. She glanced down at the screen on her cell to check the time. 10AM. She had exactly half an hour before she had to be at Darien's place to give him his birthday wake up call. And what a wake up call it would be, she thought. She had spent a large amount of money, left over from the semester, solely at Trista's shop in such a short amount of time. In fact, she had even ordered a few custom articles of clothing to be delivered no later than the last week of August. Yes, she was going to make sure that this would be a birthday that her boyfriend would never forget. She was snapped out of her sexy thoughts when she suddenly heard a voice from her past.

"Well hello, stranger!" he said.

Serena immediately tensed up. "Devon." She said coldly. She reached for her bags, ready to flee, but he quickly grasped her hand. His eyes were pleading. He looked so pathetic; she didn't know what she had ever seen in him all those years ago.

"Okay, I get why you're giving me the cold shoulder, but could you just give me a chance to redeem myself? I mean, we're not in high school anymore. I grew up, and so did you."

Serena sighed and pushed the chair across from her with her foot.

Devon looked at it hesitantly. "Is that a 'yes'?"

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Sit your ass down before I change my mind!"

He immediately sat down. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now what do you want?" She crossed her arms protectively over her chest.

"Look, I know I was an ass back then."

"_Really_? You don't say!" Serena said sarcastically.

"I don't remember you being this bitchy back in high school."

"Well, you know what they say: For every bitch, there's a prick who made her that way!"

"Ouch. I guess I sort of deserved that."

"Do I have to repeat my first question? Just tell me what the hell you wanted to say! I have other places I need to be you know!"

Devon sighed. "I'm not going to get anywhere with you, am I?"

"That depends on what your intentions are."

"Look, I get that you hate the guy I used to be, but I am not like that anymore. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt you and I'm sorry that I was too much of an idiot to realize that you were someone really special."

"Is that all?"

Devon shook his head. "No, I want us to start over."

"Hate to break it to you, but there is no 'us'! In fact, I managed to get over you and find someone else."

"What I meant is that I want us to be friends."

"Again, I'm taken already. I won't sleep with you, so you're wasting your time." Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go see my _boyfriend_ now."

Devon reached for her arm. "Serena, please don't go. I'm sorry if you're getting the wrong idea, but I really do just want us to be friends. We had a lot of fun together in the past, and I'm not referring to anything physical. I understand that you have a boyfriend; you've made that perfectly clear. All I'm asking is that you give me another chance, even if we're just friends, because honestly, I can't imagine NOT having you in my life. Please, I'm just asking you to consider my offer of friendship."

Serena was touched. Devon seemed so sincere, and she could tell because he'd lied to her enough times in the past for her to be able to tell the difference. "Okay, fine. Maybe we can hang out some time, just give me your number and I'll call you okay?"

"Can I get your number too?"

"No, not until I've truly decided if I can actually forgive you."

Devon nodded. "That's fair. So, I hope I hear from you soon."

Serena gathered up her bags as Devon scrawled his phone number on a napkin and handed it to her.

"Okay, I have to go see my boyfriend now; it's his birthday today. Maybe I'll see you around." Serena said, taking the napkin and stashing it in her purse. She turned toward the exit, waving goodbye to Devon as she walked out the door.

Serena tossed her bags into the backseat of her silver sports car and revved up the engine. In a few minutes, Darien was going to get the greatest wake up call ever. It's such a good thing that he gave me a key to his place, she thought to herself as she pulled away from the curb.

"This is your wake up call, Darien." Serena purred, her little pink tongue flicking out and gliding over his collarbone. She was dressed in a red corset that barely concealed her breasts, which were practically spilling out of the cups. Sleepily he ran his hands over the smooth skin of her hips and thighs, his fingers playing with the thin waistband of her matching thong.

"_Oh gods, Serena, you're so damn sexy! I'm getting hard just looking at you!" He moaned when she straddled his hips and undulated her lower body against his. _

"_I noticed." She purred, purposefully grinding against his hardness. "I'm going to make you so hard, baby. Harder than you've ever thought possible." Her lips pressed to his and she began to nibble urgently at his lips, her hands roughly sliding up over his chest. Darien slid his own hands up to cup her breasts, but she playfully slapped them away. _

"_Uh uh uh! No touching! I can't have you distracting me!" From out of nowhere, she produced a pair of furry handcuffs and repeated the words he had said to her weeks ago in the park. "You have the right to remain sexy! Everything you say can and will be used against you in the court of sex. If you cannot afford a sex-tourney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"_

"_Hell yes!" Darien growled, allowing his gorgeous girlfriend to handcuff him to the bed frame. She giggled, breaking out of character for a moment to gaze lovingly into his eyes. "I love you, Darien. Happy Birthday." And then her lips were upon him again, as if she was trying to devour every inch of him. He moaned in response to her ministrations and bucked his hips up against the wet heat between her legs._

My gods this is too easy, Beryl thought as Darien writhed beneath her. Sure, he was asleep and probably dreaming about that slut girlfriend of his, but that wouldn't matter so long as the stupid bitch arrived on time to see Darien in such a compromising position. "Ohh, you like that, baby?" she purred in his ear, her hand sliding roughly down his chest and down to squeeze his penis, which was becoming harder beneath her ministrations. I bet that slut girlfriend of yours has never been able to please you like this, she thought, increasing the tempo until he was almost at the brink. Come on, what could possibly be taking that girl so long to get here and witness my latest conquest? Beryl sighed, but didn't let up her motions. Soon Darien was screaming Serena's name.

Serena could hear the moans coming from Darien's apartment and smiled to herself. Darien must be having a _really_ good dream, she thought, I think now is the perfect opportunity to give him his birthday surprise! She quickly unlocked the door and stepped inside, slipping out of her demure sundress. Underneath she had on a sexy white lace corset and a matching G-string. She decided to keep her white high heels on. Quickly she ascended the steps leading to his bedroom, barely concealing her squeal of excitement. She had never done this before, and she couldn't wait to show her boyfriend that she could be even sexier. As the moans grew louder, she made her way toward the half open doorway and pushed it all the way open. She screamed. Straddling her boyfriend and dressed in a black corset and matching thong was the same red haired woman who had threatened her in the parking lot. Darien was moaning beneath her, oblivious that Serena was even there. He was handcuffed to the bed, his eyes were shut tightly and he looked like he was enjoying every minute of it. The bastard was cheating on her and he was enjoying it! Tears welled up in her eyes and suddenly Serena felt sick to her stomach. How could she have been so stupid as to believe him when he'd told her he loved her? She should never have trusted him with her heart; she should have just continued to use him for sex and nothing else. Why did she always end up falling for the jerks?

The woman caught her eye and smirked before bending down to lick Darien's chest again.

"Oh gods, you're _amazing_!" he moaned, his eyes still firmly shut. Serena couldn't stand to watch another second of her boyfriend fucking that slut. She turned around and quickly ran down the stairs, grabbed her bags and slammed the door shut behind her, leaving the key on the floor for him to pick up after he was finished destroying the last thread of hope she had left when it came to finding true love. It really doesn't exist, she thought as she threw her bags back into her car. The tears were falling freely now, blurring her vision. I can't drive, not when I'm this upset! She pulled out her cell phone from out of her purse and a napkin fell out of it. She picked it up, staring at the phone number scrawled on it in blue ink for a few minutes before finally dialing the number. He picked it up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Devon, you said you wanted to be my friend?"

"Yeah."

"Good, because I could really use one right now." She started to cry.

"Serena? What's wrong?"

"I…I need you to drive me home. I don't think I can drive right now."

"Where are you?"

"In the parking lot of the big apartment building on the corner of 1st street."

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Thank you."

"Don't worry, everything will be okay."

"Just get here fast, please." She whimpered before hanging up the phone. She looked back up at the apartment building where her now ex-boyfriend lived, and she broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

Temptress Kitten: Okay, technically when I finished this, it was after midnight and therefore no longer the day I hate with a fiery loathing. But, since I haven't gone to bed yet, I still consider it to be the 14th and so I was able to make this a very devastating chapter that makes me feel a lot better now. I know you probably all feel lousy after reading something so depressing, but writing this made my own problems a little more insignificant and I got all my pent up frustration out of my system. This might be the last new chapter I post for a while since I'm revising the old ones and also I've got tons of homework every day of the week that I really should be focusing on. Not to mention the fact that I plan to get my crush in my bed real soon, and then I won't have to whine about not having a decent lay in over a year. Yeah, there was that one guy I did in April, as mentioned in my notes for Chapter 12, but he doesn't exactly count as even HALF decent. So cross your fingers for me because if I get some action, then I get more inspiration. Also, I'm a lot nicer to the happy couples and I'm less likely to wish them pain and suffering. So really, it's in your best interests to pray that I get my crush to sleep with me!

On another note: The movie mentioned by Beryl and Emerald is called "Forty Days and Forty Nights" and I don't own the rights to it, so again, no suing the college student please.


	17. Chapter 14

**Toxic Love**

**TemptressKitten17**

**Rated: M**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon**

**Author's Note:** _If you are under the age of eighteen then you are reading this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for what happens if your parents catch you reading this or if the content in my story corrupts your innocent minds. You have been warned._

Chapter 14: Forgiveness is Only Possible if you Know the Whole Story

Devon pulled his shiny black jaguar into the parking lot of the large penthouse apartment building and immediately recognized Serena's car. He parked beside her silver convertible and his heart nearly broke when he saw her tear stained face. He didn't know what had happened, but he had a strong desire to beat the crap out of her boyfriend all of a sudden. He clenched his fists; whoever this guy was, he had some nerve making Serena cry like that. Devon ignored the voice that was so kind to remind him that _he_ had once hurt her just as badly and instead opened the door and approached her car. In his hands he held a grande strawberry frapuccino from Starbucks; it had always been her favorite comfort drink.

Serena looked up and smiled a half-hearted smile. "Thank you for arriving so quickly." Her voice was raspy, an effect of all the sobbing she had done moments before.

"Serena, what happened? You were so happy an hour ago." Devon asked, handing her the drink.

Serena laughed softly, "Yeah, well that was before I walked in on Darien's little performance with that tramp!"

Devon clenched his fists. "Why would he do something like that? Only a cold and heartless bastard would cheat on a gorgeous angel like you!"

Serena arched one eyebrow. "Well, aren't you the pot calling the kettle black!"

Devon pouted in protest to Serena's remark. "Hey, in my defense, I was a young and stupid teenager back then. I've grown up, but obviously this guy hasn't."

"It's not his fault, Dev, I'm the idiot who trusted him and fell for his tricks. Why do I always pick the jerks?" She took a sip of her drink, relishing in the temporary comfort she felt as the cool liquid slid down her throat. She wondered why comfort food always tasted so much better after a break up.

"Serena, if you want to talk about this, I'm willing to listen." Devon leaned over the side of the car and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Serena shook her head.

"No, I just want to go home and get over this jerk!"

"Alright, why don't you get into my car then and I'll drive you home. We can pick up your car later."

"I don't want to EVER come back here! I won't give the jerk the satisfaction of seeing me again!"

"Serena, you are in no condition to drive home, but since you don't want to come back I guess I'm leaving _my _car behind."

Serena looked up at him in awe. "You would do that for me?" she asked.

Devon gave her a warm smile. "Hey, we're friends aren't we, and friends help each other out. Now move over, unless you want me sitting on your lap!" A slightly amused smile formed on Serena's lips as she climbed into the passenger seat, careful not to spill her drink. After Devon secured his own vehicle and activated the anti-theft device, the two of them pulled out of the parking lot. Devon paused before driving into the main stream of traffic; it had just occurred to him that HE HAD NO IDEA WHERE HE WAS GOING. "Serena, uh, I don't exactly know where you live. I mean, I know where you _used_ to live, but I doubt you want to go all the way to your parents' house." Silence greeted him. Devon turned his head slightly to look at her, her eyes were glazed over in deep contemplation and they were directed toward a particular balcony of the apartment building. He didn't need her to tell him what she was staring at so intently; he knew, by the powers of deduction, that the balcony led into her ex boyfriend's apartment. "Serena," he said again, a little louder this time. She jumped slightly as Devon's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry, Devon, I spaced out for a minute!" She quickly looked away from the apartment building, mentally slapping herself for even looking back toward a place she was supposed to put behind her forever. "What was it you said?" she asked casually, hoping that he hadn't caught her looking up into Darien's place. Devon found and opening in the traffic and drove down the street and away from the place that had caused Serena such despair today.

"I was saying that I'm going to need your new address if you want me to drive you home, but you were a little distracted."

"I wasn't--" Serena started to protest.

Devon smiled knowingly. "Yes, you were. You never were a good liar, and if I recall correctly, you weren't one to simply bottle up your feelings or deny that you had them, at least not when we were together."

Serena laughed bitterly. "Yeah, well I was a lot of things back then; young, naïve, and entirely too trusting for my own good, just to name a few. A lot has changed since then, including me."

"I don't believe that," Devon said.

"No," Serena replied. "You just don't want to accept it; just like I don't want to accept the fact that it's MY fault that Darien hurt me the way he did. I want to blame him, but I was the one who thought that he would be different than all of the others. What could I really expect from a player like him other than to wind up getting my heart broken?"

"We've already been over this. It isn't your fault. Now, where am I supposed to go? Or do you just want to drive around aimlessly for hours?"

Serena pointed straight ahead. "You keep going straight until you reach Moonlight Crescent. Turn onto that street, and my building is at the far end. And you don't know my track record since we broke up, so you can't say that this is not my fault."

Devon sighed. "So we're already back to that topic are we? Look, I don't know what sort of men, or how many, you dated after me, but the fact that you couldn't make it work with any of them has nothing to do with you and what you did wrong. As far as I'm concerned, they didn't deserve you in the first place and it is their loss. And as for Darien, if he had the nerve to cheat on you then he doesn't deserve you either and you shouldn't feel that you did something wrong to cause it."

Serena simply rolled her eyes as the car turned onto her street. "Okay, so if it's not me, then enlighten me; why DID they cheat on me if I'm sooo perfect? More importantly, if you're convinced that I'm this angelic goddess of whom no man is truly worthy to love, then why did YOU cheat on me? Why did you use me the way you did and then toss me aside so cruelly?"

Devon pulled into her parking lot and glanced meaningfully at her. "I never intended for that to happen. I was going to tell you about the bet and Emerald's plan to humiliate you. I hated deceiving you, but I hated the way you eventually found out even more."

"Because you didn't want me to find out before you could come up with a way to make it sound like you were doing some noble thing by telling me the truth!" Serena said a little coldly.

Devon parked the vehicle and sighed. It was now or never and he had already waited too long to tell her. Part of him warned against it, reminding him that not even an hour ago Serena had decided to break it off with Darien and moving in on her now would only confuse her further. But there was that other part, nagging him that he needed to stop making excuses and just tell her how he felt about her, how he had felt about her for years, and find out once and for all whether or not they could have a future together at some point. His heart pounded in his chest and his mouth suddenly felt very dry. 'Come on you idiot! Tell her already!' his mind was screaming at him. Devon was about to open his mouth to say something when the gold tinted convertible pulled up beside them. Devon recognized the blonde behind the wheel immediately, even with the gold framed sunglasses on her face and her hair being quite a few inches shorter than it had been four years ago. Unfortunately, she also recognized him.

Mina removed her sunglasses, blue eyes glaring icy daggers at the young man comforting her cousin. Where the hell was Darien, and why was Serena even talking to Devon in the first place? Was she secretly a masochist or something? She opened her door quickly and stormed toward the silver sports car, standing over her cousin with her hands on her hips. "What the hell is going on here?" she demanded. "Why the hell are YOU driving Sere's car and why is she even letting you near her? I bet you drugged her!" Mina placed a hand in front of Serena's face, "Serena, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"I have not been drugged; Devon was just kind enough to give me a ride home." Serena said.

Mina's jaw dropped in utter shock at what she was hearing. "What? What happened to your date with Darien, your _boyfriend_? Does he even know that you're here with Devon right now?"

Serena's eyes turned into icy blue daggers. "I don't _have _a boyfriend."

Mina turned back to Devon. "You not only drugged her, you _brain washed _her!" She snapped her fingers in front of Serena's face. "Serena, are you in there? Snap out of it!"

"For fuck's sake, Mina, she's not under the influence of anything and she has not been brainwashed!" Devon practically shouted at her.

Mina glared. "And what makes you think that I would believe a word _you_ say when you've been so deceptive in the past. And why would Serena want to be in the same zip code as you, let alone in the same vehicle?"

Serena rolled her eyes. "Mina, just drop it okay? You don't know what happened, you don't know…" she felt her throat tighten and the tears she had forced back for so long suddenly spilled onto her cheeks.

"Oh, now look what you've done, Mina!" Devon scolded her.

"ME? _I _upset her? You're the one in the car with her!" Mina protested.

"OH SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" Serena shouted in frustration. "For the last time, Devon is being a friend to me right now and if _you're_ my friend as well, then you better start proving it by getting along with him right now!"

Mina bit her lip. "Fine," she said after a few seconds. "I'll try to be civil toward him, but you had better tell me what the hell is going on the second we get upstairs."

"Fair enough," Serena said, not wanting to argue with her cousin.

"I'll get your bags for you," Devon said, trying to be helpful.

Mina gave him a withering glance and Serena smiled in gratitude.

At the very moment that Devon had found Serena sobbing in the parking lot, Darien's dream quickly became a nightmare. Serena was grinding and circling her hips against his ever present erection and it took a while for his passion fogged mind to realize that her movements were very real and not at all a figment of his imagination. He inwardly smiled to himself, 'So this is the sexy birthday surprise she hinted at for weeks' and slowly his hands moved up to touch and caress her thighs. He couldn't believe it; she had actually worn knee high boots and fish net stockings. Darien just couldn't stand to keep his eyes closed a second longer. He had to see what she was wearing and have the image forever branded into his memory. But upon opening his eyes, he was more than shocked at what he saw.

"Beryl! What the fuck are you doing here?" Darien sat up so quickly that the furry handcuffs snapped in half and Beryl lost her balance, nearly falling off the bed in the process. Ignoring the glare she shot in his direction, Darien scrambled out of bed, pulling the bedsheets with him. He glanced at the clock and cursed loudly. "Shit!"

"What's the matter, lover?" Beryl purred, swaying her hips as she moved toward him. "Don't you like your special birthday surprise?" Darien backed away from her and nearly tripped over the nightstand as he attempted to put as much distance between them as possible.

"NO, you stupid bitch! Now get out before my girlfriend arrives and gets the wrong idea about what happened!" He found a discarded trench coat and tossed it at her. Beryl simply smirked.

"You think this is some sort of game?" Darien growled menacingly.

"If it is, then I definitely won!" she looked entirely too pleased with herself and it made Darien feel uneasy, but as long as he got rid of Beryl before Serena arrived, everything would be okay.

Darien rolled his eyes at her comment. "What are you talking about? I'm not going to get together with you, _ever_. I'm in love with someone else!"

"But she doesn't love _you_ anymore. Not after she found out what a bad boy you've been!"

Darien felt the blood drain from his face at her words. "What did you do?" he demanded, shoving Beryl against the wall and shaking her shoulders.

"Yeah, that's it, Darien! I like it rough!" she purred, egging him on.

Darien threw her into the wall again, harder this time to really get his point across. He was not in the mood for her games. "One more time, WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"It's not what _I _did, lover, it's what _she_ thinks _you_ did. And you don't have to worry about her walking in on us and getting the wrong idea; I think she figured enough out for herself ten minutes ago when you were screaming out in ecstasy."

"You're lying!" Darien said, throwing on a pair of old sweats and racing down the stairs with Beryl hot on his heels. He wanted to throw Beryl through the glass balcony doors when he saw that the front door was ajar and Serena's house key, still on the small key chain he had given her to go with it, lay on the floor in the doorway. He picked it up and ran out the door, praying that she was still too upset to have driven home yet. As he threw open the doors leading outside, he called out for her. He immediately recognized the silver convertible pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road. It sped away before he had the chance to even shout after her to stop and let him explain. Beryl appeared behind him, shamelessly leaving her trench coat gaping open to reveal a more than indecent amount of skin. "Oh, looks like the poor little rabbit got away!" she cooed, deliberately taunting him. "Bye, bye little rabbit!" she waved goodbye in the direction Serena's car had sped off in, a smile on her face. Darien had had enough of her antics, however, and he violently shoved her out the door and slammed it shut so she couldn't get back in again.

"She'll never forgive you!" Beryl shouted after him. Darien ignored her and made his way back to his apartment. He had to call Serena and explain, before he lost her forever.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Mina asked as Serena's cel phone vibrated loudly in her purse.

She shook her head. "No, I know _exactly _who is calling me, and there is no way I'm picking up!" Serena pulled out the her keys and shoved the one for her apartment a little too forcefully into the lock. Once she was inside she kicked off her high heels and flopped down onto the sofa. Mina and Devon followed her inside.

"Okay," Mina said once she had shut the door. "What is going on, Sere? You better fill me in right now because I get the feeling that Devon already knows more than me; and that is just unacceptable!"

"Serena doesn't have to tell you anything!" Devon said. "Can't you see that she's upset about what happened today? I doubt she wants to even think about it right now!"

Mina glared indignantly. "Nobody asked _you_."

"Devon, it's okay, really." Serena said wearily, "Mina has a right to know everything; we're like sisters."

Mina sat down on the sofa next to Serena and Devon sat down across from them on the plush armchair. Serena's phone was still vibrating in her purse next to her, andshe did her best to ignore it. "Okay, so you probably want to know why Devon is here,"Serena said. "Well, we sort of ran into each other an hour ago while I was in the coffee shop killing time until it was time to wake up Darien for his birthday surprise. He appologized and said that he wanted us to start over as friends, and because I was in a very good mood, I agreed." She glanced over in Devon's direction and smiled. "I'm grateful that we did run into each other because I don't know what I would have done if he wasn't there for me to talk to today after all that happened."

"Sere, WHAT happened? And why aren't you with Darien? What is going on?" Mina asked.

"The truth is, Mina, that Darien is a lying bastard who wasn't worthy of Serena in the first place." Devon spoke for Serena, who had started to go into a state of catatonia at the mention of Darien's name.

"What are you talking about? They're the perfect couple." Mina said, feeling very confused by this sudden turn of events.

"He cheated on me," Serena said stoically, "with that girl who threatened me in the parking lot last month."

"What? You can't mean..." Mina's eyes widened in surprise and shock; there was no way that Darien would have cheated on Serena with Beryl. There had to be some misunderstanding.

Devon couldn't believe what he was hearing. The girl in Darien's bed had been Beryl, which meant that Darien might be innocent after all. He paled when he remembered how eager Emerald had been to help him get in contact with Serena. Could it all have been a ploy to distract Serena long enough for Beryl to pounce on Darien? Worse, had _he_ been an unwitting pawn in her game? No, it couldn't be possible.

"Yes, I mean! I saw it with my own eyes; Beryl was dressed in a corset and she was grinding against Darien on his bed, and he was enjoying it!" Serena spat the words out as if they tasted bitter.

"Oh, Sere, I'm so sorry." Mina wrapped her arms around her cousin in a comforting embrace.

Serena refused to cry over him. She shrugged her shoulders indifferently, as if it was no real loss. "Whatever. I'm already over it and to prove just how over him I am, I think we should go out tonight and party."

Mina pulled away and stared at Serena as if she had completely lost her mind. "Um, don't you think it's a little too soon to be going out partying? You're still in shock over what happened."

Serena shook her head and smiled convincingly. "No, I'm not in shock. I couldn't care less about that asshole if I tried! Now _you_ don't have to tag along if you don't want to, but I'm going out tonight and I'm going to have fun. Dev, you wanna join me at the club?"

Devon shifted uncomfortably on the chair. "Uh, I have to side with Mina on this one; you're still hurting and vulnerable. Do you really think it's a good idea to go out? Guys can sense when a girl is on the rebound, and they will be all over you."

"Yeah, Sere, do you really want to go on the rebound and wake up next to an even bigger loser than the first guy you slept with?"

"HEY! I was on _your_ side!" Devon protested.

Mina smiled sweetly. "Just kidding! Can't you take a joke?"

Serena rolled her eyes. "Look," she said, "I know you both have this idea in your head that I'm vulnerable and delicate, but I can take care of myself and the last thing I want to do is sit at home wallowing in self-pity! So I'm going out tonight with or without you and if it's without you, then I might just go home with the first guy who pays me a compliment."

"No, you won't, because I'm going with you." Devon said quickly. Just the thought of some sleazebag trying to pick up Serena made him clench his fists.

"Then you'll need your car back, won't you." Mina said, deciding that it was better to turn Devon into an ally than keep him as an enemy. Besides, if he truly cared about Serena, then he would help her figure out the truth before her cousin did something incredibly stupid tonight. "I'll drive you over there." She said before he could reply.

"Okay..." Devon said warily. He could tell that something was up because Mina was suddenly being nicer to him. Perhaps she had figured out that something didn't quite fit with the story Serena had told her. Did she know about Beryl? He decided that he would ask her on the way to Darien's place.

Mina stood up and made her way to the door, slipping on her gold high heeled sandals. "Come on, let's go." she said impatiently. Devon got up and followed her out the door, leaving Serena alone. The phone was still going off in her purse and despite the fact that she had tried desperately to pretend Darien wasn't calling her, it hadn't worked. She pulled it out of her purse, glanced at the call display and then hit the 'off' button. "Sorry, Darien," she said, "but I'm not listening to any pathetic excuses; it's over." She threw the phone back into her purse and rose from her spot on the sofa. She might as well get ready now. The sooner she went out clubbing, the sooner she would be able to show everyone just how over Darien she really was.

**Temptress Kitten:** Okay, first of all let me say how terribly sorry I am that I ended the last chapter so horribly, but I promise you all that if you stick it out and keep reading, there WILL be a happy ending for our couple. You're just so very fortunate that things have really started to work out for me and I'm actually starting to believe in fate again! Here's the update on what I've been up to:

The guy I had a crush on? Never got together with him, but I don't care about that anymore. Instead, I met the sweetest, sexiest 24 yr old back in the early weeks of March and our first date was the most amazing night ever...well, unless you count the sleepovers at his place. I'm starting to think that maybe there really is such a thing as fate because how do you explain our getting on the same bus twice in a row. Seriously, I was shopping for a bridesmaid dress for my best friends' wedding (and that's not a typo, I'm best friends with both the bride and the groom) and when I got on the bus, I spotted this really cute guy with stunning eyes sitting across from me. All we did the whole bus ride was look at each other, smile, look away and then repeat the whole sequence over again. And then the next day after class, I got on the bus and there he was again. This time he deliberately skipped his stop and got off at mine, explaining that he was kicking himself the day before for not having the nerve to talk to me. He asked me out, we exchanged numbers, and the next day he called and we set up a date for Friday...and the rest is history. You know what the really funny part is? My ex showed up that same weekend that I met my guy and apparently had decided to move down here (he broke up with that girlfriend he was living with) and I had seriously considered getting back together with him because I hadn't been with a guy in over a year, and then I decided against it. The day he left was the same day that my friend called and forced me to leave the house, go to the mall, and eventually get on the bus and meet the guy I've been waiting for all my life. So, there you have it! I'm no longer bitter and since I'm seriously dating the perfect guy for me, I have so much more inspiration for my chapters now. Thank you to all of you out there who kept your fingers crossed for me, I think it may have helped me get where I am now. So to all of you out there who are just as discouraged as I was, don't give up hope. The right mate for you _is_ out there, and when the time is right they will come to you.

Till next time,

Temptress Kitten 17


	18. Chapter 15

**Toxic Love**

**TemptressKitten17**

**Rated: M**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sailor Moon

_**Author's Note:** If you are under the age of eighteen then you are reading this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for what happens if your parents catch you reading this or if the content in my story corrupts your innocent minds. You have been warned._

**Chapter 15: **When in Doubt, Go to the Source

"_Oh Gods, Serena, you're going to kill me." Darien was standing in the doorway of his bedroom, holding a plate of strawberries and a bottle of champagne in his hands. He had walked in at just the right time, too, for Serena was putting on quite the show for him. He had told her to make herself comfortable and she had definitely done that and then some. The second Darien went downstairs for their refreshments she had stripped out of her pink camisole and black skirt. Before he had led her up to his room, she had told him that he was going to lose it once he saw what she had on underneath her clothes. She had severely underestimated just what his reaction would be. She wore a white corset with lace straps and a satin ribbon laced up the front, matching lace panties and perhaps the best accessory of all, a matching garter on her thigh. On her feet she wore white stiletto sequined 'slippers'. But if that wasn't already enough material for him to use on those lonely nights when she wasn't with him, the added effect of her rubbing lotion onto her long, smooth legs nearly did him in right there. _

_She looked up at him innocently, but he knew that she had planned this. That bottle of lotion on his bed next to her had not come from _his_ bathroom cabinet; she had brought it with her. "Why? I'm just rubbing lotion on my skin to keep it silky smooth. I do this _every_ night," she purred, continuing to sensually glide her hands over her skin._

_"I'm sure you do, but I doubt you always wear _that_." Darien's fingers itched to touch her, but at the same time he was enjoying the banter between them._

_"Oh, sometimes I do," Serena said casually, though she was looking up at him with a wicked gleam in her eyes as her hands traveled up her arms and across her collar bone. "And sometimes, I wear nothing at all." She squeezed the lotion into her palms and deliberately stretched out one leg in front of her and ran her hands down to her sexy high heeled slippers, rubbing the lotion into the soles of her feet without removing the shoes. She continued to make eye contact with Darien as she slid her hands up her leg until she reached the white garter on her upper thigh. She was teasing him, tempting him with each sensual touch, and the playful look in her eyes told him that she knew exactly what she was doing to him._

_"You're a tease." He said, making his way toward the bed. He set down the champagne and strawberries, placing them on the dresser, and in one swift movement he gathered her up in his arms and placed hungry kisses on her neck._

_"Yes, but I'm a _good_ tease." She purred when he reached the corner of her jaw and began to lightly nip at the sensitive skin there. If her plan had been to work him up into a frenzy of desire for her, she had succeeded. Darien drew her down to the bed, kissing her lips hungrily. Serena's hands slid up his back, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she tried to sit up again. But Darien was not about to let her get the upper hand; not tonight. He pulled away slightly, a hand running down her side and resting on her hip. Without warning, Darien leaned back, his hand snaking down her leg and grabbing the side of her foot. "Damn, those are some hot shoes." He said as he lifted her leg up and placed his lips on her ankle. _

_"I'm glad you approve. I bought them just so that I could see the look on your face." Serena bent her knee and hooked her foot behind Darien's head, slowly and gently drawing him closer to her for a kiss. She couldn't believe how bold she had become with him. He made her want to do things she had only ever fantasized about and had no real experience in. It was because of him that she had gone out of her way to get the lingerie set and shoes she wore now, and she knew that no matter how often she did it, he would always see it as a special treat. Perhaps that was why she had fallen so hard for him, and why she had been so quick to trust him with her heart. _

"No!" Serena shouted at herself, trying to shake the images from her mind. She was in her room rubbing lotion into her skin, the sweet scent of vanilla perfuming the air. It only served to remind her of the time she had used it in a more sensual way. She let out a sigh of frustration and threw the bottle across the room. It landed in the pile consisting of the other things she had come across while getting ready that reminded her of Darien. She had even stripped her bed down to the mattress and decided that she would buy some new bedding before she went out clubbing tonight. It was worth shelling out the cash if she didn't have to smell his cologne on her sheets for a week. Serena looked at the clock. It wasn't even 3pm yet; she could probably go to the store now and pick up a new bed while she was at it. Sure, it was drastic, but the fact that she wanted to get rid of anything that reminded her of him was proof that she was already over him, right? She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, as if expecting it to tell her that she was really over him. The tear stained face staring back at her told her differently. "Dammit! Why do I even care? He cheated on me and he didn't deserve me!" she reminded herself. Darien had already moved on with Beryl before he even broke it off with her, so why couldn't she do the same thing? Why should she wallow in misery when he wasn't even worth crying about? With new resolve, Serena slipped into a pink halter top and a white skirt. She might as well go get that new bedding and cleanse herself of every memory she had ever shared with Darien.

"Okay, Casanova, spill it! What do you know?" Mina said as she pulled the gold convertible onto the main road.

Devon chuckled. "Did you deliberately wait until the vehicle was moving before you started your interrogation?"

"I'm not kidding around, Devon. I want to know why you reacted the way you did when Sere mentioned Beryl's name."

Devon sighed. He knew Mina had an ulterior motive for driving him to Darien's place to retrieve his car. "It's a long story."

"I don't care if it's a trilogy as long as Tolkien's; you're still going to tell me."

"I really had no idea this was going to happen, I swear!" Devon suddenly blurted out. Mina's eyes widened in shock. So his presence here _did_ have something to do with Serena mysteriously finding Beryl in Darien's bed.

"I _knew _that you were guilty! What did you do? Distract Sere long enough for Beryl to drug Darien?"

"What is it with you always assuming that people have been drugged? Have you been watching soap operas or something? And no, I was not aware of Beryl's plan at all, okay? But now that you mention it, I think I might have been an unwitting pawn in whatever fucked up plan she was orchestrating." He mentally slapped himself for being so stupid as to trust Emerald in the first place.

"Whoa, back up the train here! What do you mean you _might_ have been part of the plan? You better explain yourself right now!"

"Like I said before, I had no idea what was going on at the time. You remember Emerald, my ex from high school?"

"You mean the one who made it her mission to publicly humiliate my cousin and tarnish her reputation in senior year?"

"Yeah, well we've been sort of on and off since then and a few weeks ago she caught me looking at an old picture of me and Serena. At first, she flipped out, but then she offered to help me get in touch with Sere again. I'll admit that it seemed a little suspicious, but I had no idea that her room mate and best friend Beryl was the one behind it. Then, today I got a call from Emerald telling me to go to the café where I found Serena. An hour later, Serena called me, sobbing and asking me to pick her up from her boyfriend's place. I never even figured out that it had all been a set up until Serena mentioned Beryl's name."

"Yeah, the second I heard her name I just knew there was some sort of misunderstanding because Darien hates Beryl's guts." Mina agreed, turning her car onto Darien's street. "So now the question is, what do we do about it?"

"We?" Devon asked.

"Yep, you're going to help me get them back together!"

"Yeah, but how? You know as well as I do how stubborn Serena is."

Mina rolled her eyes. "Come on, Devon! For once in your life use your brain! Why do you think I agreed to drive all the way to Darien's place with you when I could have just made you take a taxi? We're going to go straight to the only person who can convince Serena that this is all a misunderstanding."

"We're going to talk to Darien? How the hell is that going to help anything?" Devon said skeptically.

Mina parked the car and turned off the ignition. "Look, just trust me on this one; I know what I'm doing. Now let's go!"

Devon sighed and followed Mina as she led the way to the building's entrance.

Darien hit redial on his cellular phone for the tenth time, praying that Serena would finally pick up. He let out a strangled sound of frustration when it went straight to her voice mail. She had changed her outgoing message, and she had done so quite recently. _"You've reached Serena! Unfortunately I'm screening all of my calls until my bastard ex-boyfriend stops calling me! So if your name is not Darien Shields, leave your name and number and I'll get back to you. And, Darien, if that's you, why don't you call your whore instead and LEAVE ME ALONE! Everyone else, have a nice day!"_ Darien hit the 'end call' button and ran his hand through his disheveled hair. How was he supposed to explain if she wouldn't even hear him out? He rose from where he had been sitting on his leather sofa at the sound of the intercom beeping. Maybe Serena had decided to confront him after all. He quickly pressed the talk button. "Serena?" he asked, hopeful that she would answer him. Instead, he was surprised to hear Mina's voice on the other end. "No, sorry Dare, it's Mina and I've brought a friend of Sere's who's willing to help. Can we come up?"

"Of course." He said, pressing the button to grant Mina entrance into the building.

A few minutes later there was a knock at his door. He quickly ran to greet Mina and Serena's blonde male friend. Mina stepped inside, dragging Devon over to the living room where they both sat down on opposite ends of the sofa.

"So I guess you heard then?" Darien said gloomily as he sat down on the chair across from them.

"Serena told me everything," Mina said.

"I swear I didn't cheat on her! The woman she saw me with…"

"We know you would never sleep with Beryl willingly, Darien. Devon was a little slow, but I figured out that something was a little off about the whole situation."

"I was _not_ a little slow! I just didn't want to believe it!" Devon protested.

"Of course not, because you _wanted_ it to be true so you could have her all to yourself." Mina countered.

"We're just friends now! All I want is for Sere to be happy." Devon retorted, forgetting that Darien was still there.

"Oh, riiight, I'll believe that. And I'll be having my lobotomy _when_?"

Darien cleared his throat loudly, reminding them of his presence. "Can we please get back on topic?" he asked.

Mina nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, Devon, stop being so childish and focus on the problem at hand."

Devon chose to ignore that comment, not wanting to get into _another_ shouting match with Mina. Not while Serena's happiness was at stake anyway. "As I was about to say before Mina so rudely interrupted me, I knew the second that Serena mentioned Beryl that it had to be a misunderstanding. I hate to admit this, but I'm part of Beryl's circle, at least indirectly. My ex and current fling happens to be her room mate. Anyway, the second her name came up I knew you hadn't really cheated on Serena since I have it on good authority that you have rejected every single one of Beryl's advances."

"So, you want to tell us what happened?" Mina added.

Darien sighed. "Well, I'll spare you the details, but I was in my bed dreaming of Serena and when I woke up I found Beryl on top of me instead of my girlfriend."

"And when Serena found you, you were still asleep so she thought…" Mina trailed off, unable to fathom how anyone could be so evil as to let a girl think her boyfriend was cheating on her when she had staged the entire thing.

"Exactly, and I can't even tell Serena what really happened because she refuses to answer her phone."

"Yeah, she can be quite stubborn." Devon agreed.

Mina grinned. "Yes she can be, however there's still a chance that you can get through to her!"

"How? She won't even talk to me!"

"Oh, there are ways," Mina said conspiratorially. "All you have to do is run into her tonight at the Lonely Hearts Night Club."

"And at the same time, you can save her from herself." Devon added.

Darien raised an eyebrow, a quizzical expression on his face.

"Serena is determined to prove to everyone that she's over you, and the way she does that is…"

"I got it, Mina, no need for you to go into details." Darien said quickly, not wanting to think about Serena flirting and making out with other guys who were only in it for the one night. "So you just tell me the time and place, and I will be there to stop her."

Mina stood up. "That's what I like to hear. Meet us at the lounge area at 9pm sharp! Come on, Devon; let's go before she gets suspicious." She made her way toward the door, Devon following after her like an obedient canine.

"I will, and Mina?" Darien said.

"Yeah?"

Darien smiled. "Thanks."

Mina opened the door and turned her head to look at him. "No problem, anything to ensure my cousin's happiness! Don't be late." With those parting words, she and Devon left the apartment, leaving Darien to think of a way to convince Serena that he was innocent.

**Temptress Kitten:**

There you go, I wrote another chapter. I know, it's short, but give me some credit here! I'm seriously busy trying to get work for the summer, catching up with the friends I've neglected since going back to school, and of course, my guy is also on my list of things to do. Now that was totally an unintentional innuendo. Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. I just can't stand having Serena and Darien apart now that I have all this inspiration for my lemons, which is why I've inserted flashbacks into the chapters now of all the naughty things they did together. I left the rest to your fertile imaginations, because that's half the fun, isn't it? So I hope you all enjoyed that little scene since I had a lot of fun writing it.

Till next time…

_**Temptress Kitten**_


	19. Chapter 16

**Toxic Love**

**TemptressKitten17**

**Rated: M**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon**

**_Author's Note: If you are under the age of eighteen then you are reading this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for what happens if your parents catch you reading this or if the content in my story corrupts your innocent minds. You have been warned._**

**Chapter 16: How NOT to Get Over Your Ex**

"Serena, don't you think you should slow down a bit?" Mina asked. She was beginning to worry about her cousin, who had been drowning her sorrows the second they arrived at the club around eight that night. It was now a quarter to nine and for someone who rarely drank, Serena had miraculously downed three strawberry margaritas within a span of thirty minutes.

Serena ignored her and turned to the attractive young bartender. "Keep 'em comin, handsome!" she winked at him and grinned at Mina and Devon when he left to get her another drink. "I think he likes me!" she told them, acting like it was a huge secret that only they were privy to.

"Mina's right, Sere, you've already had three drinks. Don't you think you should wait a couple of hours before you have another?"

Serena shook her head, which made her feel more than a little dizzy. "Why? You don't think I can handle another one? I'll have _you_ know, I could drink you under the table if I wanted!" She suddenly burst out laughing. "Ha! _Drink_ you under the table! Get it?"

"I get it, and I'm sure everyone else within a five-mile radius also got it!"

"It's a double entendre," she continued to giggle, ignoring his and Mina's pleas for her to stop explaining. "You know, cuz I can drink you under the table or I can _drink_ you while under the table! Get it?"

"Serena, please…" Mina said, feeling everyone's eyes on her, Devon and her very drunk cousin.

"And by drink, I mean…"

"Hey! Serena, that's a pretty funny joke. Yeah, it's hilarious, right, Mina?" Devon said quickly, hoping that Serena would stop talking.

"Hmm? Oh, YEAH! Great joke, Sere!" Mina nodded.

"Yeah, but you know what's even funnier?" Serena slurred. "I actually thought Darien was the ONE? Hahaha! Can you imagine anything funnier than that?"

Mina looked at Devon and then flitted her eyes toward the exit, where Darien had just appeared. Unfortunately, the second they took their eyes off of Serena, she made her escape onto the dance floor. She was wobbling in her black kitten-heel stilettos, but lucky for her there were quite a few nice men willing to let her lean into them. Some of them were extremely good looking and hotter than her no good ex-boyfriend! She began to grind against them as her entire body tingled from the effects of the alcohol. She felt so free and uninhibited! A large crowd of men had formed around her, and she was enjoying all of the attention. She turned to the tall guy who reminded her of Brad Pitt and dipped her hips down and then slowly slid her ass up his thighs to his crotch. He placed his hands low on her hips, grinning like an idiot at his friend standing a few feet away. The guy who looked like Orlando Bloom stood behind her and slipped a leg between hers. She moved closer to him, grinding against his thigh and throwing her head back in ecstasy. If there had been any doubts in her mind before about whether or not she could move on with her life, they were definitely gone now! Perhaps it was the atmosphere, or the fact that so many men wanted her right now, or it could be the numbing effects of the three strawberry margaritas she had downed in under an hour. Whatever it was, she didn't care as long as it made her forget all about that bastard ex!

"You're coming with me, NOW!" a very masculine and very angry voice said. The owner of that voice suddenly grabbed her arm and dragged her away from Orlando and Brad. She didn't have time to react as he led her away from her new friends.

Darien arrived at the lounge area at 9 sharp and quickly spotted Mina and Devon sitting at one of the tables at the far end of the lounge close to the dance floor, and unfortunately, Serena had already given them the slip.

"Oh shit, Devon, how do we explain to him that we lost her already?" Mina cursed, frantically searching for any sign of Serena.

"Come on, how far could she have really gotten? I mean, she's completely plastered! I'm amazed she could even stand up, let alone walk away without us realizing it!" Devon tried to rationalize. Neither of them noticed that Darien had approached the table and had heard their conversation.

"WHAT?" Darien said, suddenly he had a strong urge to smack both of them. "How could you let her drink tonight?"

Mina looked up at Darien and narrowed her eyes. "I didn't _let_ her, but she's a grown woman and I can't exactly tell her that she can't do something."

"And when Serena sets her mind to something, she doesn't let anyone get in her way. But, in our defense, we didn't think she'd be able to get away from you if she was incapacitated." Devon added.

"Just how many drinks did she have?" Darien demanded.

"Three margaritas," Mina squeaked out, knowing that Darien would be furious with her for allowing Serena to consume so much alcohol.

"Three margaritas and you let her out of your sight long enough for her to wander god knows where! We need to find her before someone takes advantage of the situation!" Suddenly he noticed the large crowd of men forming around a very familiar looking blond. He pushed his way past them all and was shocked at what he saw. Serena was dressed in a very low cut black halter top that zipped up the back and a matching mini skirt. She was grinding against two very sleazy men who kept sliding their grubby hands all over her. He wanted to punch their lights out, but Serena was his only concern at the moment. "You're coming with me, NOW!" he said, grabbing her bare arm a little roughly and pulling her away from the sleaze bags who had been groping her on the dance floor. Serena giggled. She appeared to be _very_ drunk and hadn't recognized him. "I'll come _with_ you if you wanna take me home with you!" she said in her seductive voice. Somehow, even drunk, she could still set him on fire with desire for her with that sexy purr of hers. But Darien was a little too pissed off with her to let her off the hook so easily. He led her toward the restrooms and Serena could see his face now that they were standing under the florescent lights; she was not at all pleased. "Why'd you have to drag me away like that? I was having fun with those guys!" she pouted.

"I think you've had enough fun for one night! I'm taking you home to bed." Darien said, pulling her toward the exit where Mina and Devon were waiting in the car.

"You don't get to tell me what to do! I'm perfectly fine and I can take care of myself!" She shoved her index finger hard into his chest. She momentarily lost her balance, but luckily Darien caught her before she fell.

"No, you can't. You're drunk and those guys were going to take advantage of you."

"Well then we'd be even, wouldn't we? You think you're the only one who gets to sleep around, think again!" Darien had gathered Serena up into is arms by this point and carried her outside.

"And if I'm drunk, it's _your_ fault, so there!" she continued to ramble on as Darien carried her toward the car where Mina and Devon were standing. "And why do _you_ care? I'm not your problem anymore, so leave me alone!"

"I won't leave you, Serena. I care about you!" he said to her. Turning to Mina and Devon, he said, "You two drive on ahead, I'll take her home in my car so that hers doesn't get ruined should she suddenly feel the negative side effects of her drinking binge." Mina and Devon nodded and after saying their quick goodbyes to Serena, they left.

"I don't need _you_ to care about me!" Serena slurred as Darien lay her down in the fully-reclined passenger seat. "I don't want to need you, I don't want to want you, and I don't want to love you!"

"Well you can't always get what you want!" Darien replied wearily as he started up the engine.

"I _had_ everything I wanted, and then _you_ had to ruin it!" she replied tearfully.

The ride home seemed to take forever. Serena continued to ramble on about all his faults and chew him out for hurting her. She would stop yelling at him momentarily when he pulled over to the side of the road so that she could throw up, but the second the car started moving, she would continue her tirade. Darien had given up trying to explain the real situation to her; she hadn't shut up long enough for him to say more than one word. She had passed out by the time he pulled into the parking lot, and he dutifully carried her all the way to her apartment door. Mina had been waiting for them to arrive and opened the door just two seconds after Darien knocked lightly on it.

"So, did you talk to her?" Mina asked, hopeful.

Darien shook his head. "No, she passed out before I could finally get a word in. She is incredibly pissed off at me; I don't think she'll let me explain, ever."

"You just have to be patient then. Don't worry, she'll come around. After all, if she can forgive _other _people, then she can forgive you." She followed close behind him as Darien made his way to Serena's room, cradling her in his arms. He was a little surprised when he saw the pile of clothes and sheets on the floor near the door and a new comforter on her equally new mattress. Mina noticed the confused expression on his face and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you about Serena's recent room 'exorcism';"

"What's that?" Darien asked.

"Oh, that's what Sere and I call it when we get rid of every last item that our bastard exes touched or gave us in an attempt to effectively get over them faster. In other words, Sere was so determined to forget about you that she totally trashed her room and threw every last item that reminded her of you into the pile of stuff by the door."

"Do me a favor," Darien said as he stepped over everything and carried Serena to her bed.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Don't let her throw anything out. Hide all of this if you have to so that she doesn't regret it when we get back together."

"I didn't think you were the sentimental type."

Darien shook his head, pulling the comforter up to cover Serena. "I'm not, but I know that _she_ is, even if she won't admit it." He kissed Serena softly on the cheek before following Mina out into the hallway.

"You're not going to stay with her tonight?" Mina asked, surprised.

"I wish I could, but in the car she made it very clear how she feels about me right now. If I stayed, it would only anger her further."

Mina sighed. "You're probably right and the last thing we want is for Serena to find another reason to be angry with you. I'll call you tomorrow to let you know how she's doing, okay."

They made their way back downstairs quietly, not wanting to wake Serena. After saying goodnight, Darien left. Mina slid the deadbolt in place and shut off all of the lights before tiptoeing back to Serena's room. Serena was crying in her sleep and calling out for Darien to hold her. Mina smiled softly. No matter what Serena said, she really did love Darien and more importantly, she _did_ want to take him back.

**Temptress Kitten:**

Believe it or not, I finished the first 1, 400 words a couple of nights ago due to my creativity-induced insomnia and it was about 4am when I finally decided to call it a night. Do other writers also have this problem too, or am I just weird? Seriously, I can start writing something around 10 at night and get so into it that the next thing I know, the damn birds are chirping outside my window and the sky is a hell of a lot lighter than it was when I started writing. So I really hope you all appreciate the time and effort, not to mention sleepless nights, I put into each and ever chapter. But if any of you are also like me when it comes to writing, please let me know so that I don't feel like I'm the only one anymore. Oh, and for all of you hopeless romantics out there who have been following MY love story so far… yes, we are still together and every time I see him it still feels like the first day we met! I still can't believe I met my boyfriend on the bus, but I recently read this article in Cosmopolitan's June 2006 issue about other women who met their guys in unexpected places. One of them met their lover at an ATM machine and another met hers in a public washroom! Now I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but if we're still together in four years, then chances are high that I'll end up marrying him and then it will be fun to tell our kids and grandkids how we first met…and now I'm grinning like an idiot so I better stop typing now. Till next time…

_**Temptress Kitten 17**_


	20. Chapter 17

**Toxic Love**

**TemptressKitten17**

**Rated: M**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon**

**_Author's Note: If you are under the age of eighteen then you are reading this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for what happens if your parents catch you reading this or if the content in my story corrupts your innocent minds. You have been warned._**

**Chapter 17**

Serena winced in pain as the consequences of her drinking binge last night pounded in her skull. Thankfully she had remembered to close the heavy curtains before going out and so only a tiny sliver of daylight was able to seep through; but even a little light was too much at that point. If that wasn't bad enough, she had slept in an awkward position and her entire back was in knots, plus she had an awful taste in her mouth. She was never drinking like that again. Serena was curious why she drank so much in the first place and wondered why Darien hadn't stayed to take care of her. She slowly, painfully, opened her eyes and noticed the state her room was in and she shut them again. Oh, that's right; the bastard had cheated on her yesterday! HE was the reason she felt like shit run over twice today.

Groaning in pain, she rolled over and practically fell out of her bed onto the floor in her attempt to get up. She made her way to the bathroom, wincing as she flicked the switch and light attacked her sensitive eyes. She didn't dare look in the mirror; the sight probably wasn't pretty and the last thing she needed was another reason to feel lousy. She drowned her toothbrush with mint toothpaste and scrubbed the awful taste from her mouth as thoroughly as she could. Her head was still pounding, so she grabbed the bottle of extra strength Tylenol and popped two capsules into her mouth before undressing and stepping into the shower. She heard the shrill sound of the telephone ringing in the next room and slapped a hand to her throbbing head, moaning in pain. Oh, this was going to be one very long day. When would the pills kick in?

Mina dashed for the phone the second she heard it ring, not wanting to disturb Serena. She was probably dealing with a hangover from hell after all the drinks she had last night, especially since she was a lightweight.

"Hello?" she said after pressing the Talk button on the cordless.

"Is she awake?" a distinctly male voice asked. Just then, Serena came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

"Who the hell would be calling so early in the morning?" Serena growled.

Darien chuckled, she was awake alright and just as cheerful as she always was in the morning. Only, this wasn't exactly morning anymore, though she had probably just woken up.

"Sere, it's nearly two in the afternoon." Mina said. "Though I'm still surprised to see you awake after last night's little drinking binge."

Serena growled in response. "Yeah, well it's that asshole's fault I feel like shit today!" Darien heard her through the phone and winced. So she was still pissed off at him; he was afraid of that.

"Well it sounds like she's okay and that's all I called for, so I'll let you go talk to her now!" Darien said. He really wanted to talk to Serena, but there was nothing he could say that wouldn't piss her off in her condition.

"Yeah, okay. Later!" Mina said, not wanting Serena to know it was Darien on the phone. She hung up quickly.

"Well it looks like you've had your first hangover and lucky for you, I have the cure!"

Serena simply looked at the phone in Mina's hands. "Who were you talking to?" she asked.

"Nobody!" Mina said too quickly.

"Don't lie to me. I'm not in the mood for lies today!"

"If you must know, I was talking to Kevin. We have a date tonight."

"You don't talk to Kevin like that, so I know it wasn't him."

"Would you believe it was my brother?" Mina asked, earning a cold look from Serena. "Guess not."

"You're hiding something from me, what don't you want me to know?" Serena looked thoughtful for a moment, and then turned to glare at her cousin, who had a guilty look on her face.

"It was HIM, wasn't it? I can't believe he has the nerve to call me when I made it perfectly clear that I didn't want to see or hear from him ever again!"

"Look, he's just worried about you and he wanted to know if you were okay." Mina admitted. Serena's eyes narrowed and could have frozen Hell with the coldness in them. "Oh, I'm sure he did, after all, the arrogant bastard caused it! I can't believe I wasted three months of my life!"

"It was longer than that. You were together for over six months."

"Fucking with no strings attached doesn't count! We only became an official couple three months ago, but even that was a lie!" Serena said bitterly. "I always make the same stupid mistakes when it comes to guys!"

Mina shook her head. "No, Sere, you don't. And if Darien didn't truly care about you and if this wasn't just some big misunderstanding, then why the hell did he come to the club and rescue you from yourself last night?"

"Mina, I don't even REMEMBER last night! I was so drunk that I don't even know how I got home! Did you drive me?"

She shook her head again. "No, it was Darien."

"DARIEN?" Serena shouted. "You let that bastard take me home? How could you do that?"

"Because, Sere, you two needed to talk and sort this whole mess out!"

"What are you talking about? He cheated on me, end of story!"

"You don't know that!" Mina blurted out. She slapped a hand to her mouth. Oops.

"What did you say?" Serena asked, shocked. "Of course he did; I saw him, remember."

"Well, maybe it was all a misunderstanding and you could give him another chance."

Serena scoffed. "I don't forgive men who cheat on me!" Mina gave her a look and Serena rolled her eyes. "That's different! Devon's actually sorry and he had the balls to admit that he was wrong. Darien, on the other hand, denies that he did anything wrong and yet he expects me to take him back!"

"All I'm saying is that you should have all the facts before you cut him out of your life for good." Mina said pleadingly. She only hoped that Devon was doing his part to help fix the mess he had helped create.

Serena stormed back to her room. How dare Mina try to defend Darien like that! She was beyond pissed off and she seriously considered going over to Darien's place just to yell at him. She punched her pillow furiously for a few minutes before finally calming down. Mina's words echoed in her mind and her stupid breaking heart wanted to believe them. Maybe she would take her cousin's advice after all. What harm could that really cause anyway? Worse case scenario, he really is a lying cheat and she'd at least have closure before she dumped his ass again. But deep in her heart, she wanted for it to be a misunderstanding. She really was love's fool.

* * *

He ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. Any minute now, the blonde was going to walk through the door to his apartment and he still had no idea what he would say to her. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his nerves; if he didn't stay cool he wasn't sure that he would be able to pull this off. His ears pricked up as the sound of stiletto heels clicked loudly against the hardwood floors just outside his door. She was here. He frantically hit the button that would set the trap before she invited herself into his place with the key he had given her months ago and never bothered to get back.

"Honey, I'm home." She smirked as she stepped into his apartment. She was wearing a slinky red camisole and a short black skirt. On her feet were her trademark red stilettos with straps that reached as high as her calves. She didn't bother to remove her shoes as she made her way to the black leather sofa where he was sitting; she knew how much he loved it when she kept her shoes on while they were screwing.

He wore a white buttoned shirt with black jeans; funny, he was usually naked by the time she arrived. Oh well, she shrugged, he probably wanted her to undress him the way she used to. Well he was in for a big surprise! "So I take it you struck out with your girl," she said in a tone that showed she wasn't at all surprised. When he didn't answer her, she placed a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "And so now you decided to call me away from my boyfriend, not to mention your half-brother and best friend, so that you could get your rocks off."

He didn't say a word and he wasn't looking at her. He had a stoic expression on his face, but she didn't seem to notice or care. "Well," she continued, "I've got news for you! I didn't come here for that, I came here to tell you that it's over and I will not settle for being your consolation prize."

"Don't flatter yourself, Emerald," he said acidly. "I wouldn't touch you even if you begged me to." He smirked cruelly, eyes boring into hers as he added, "well, not anymore, that is."

"Then why the hell did you call me over here?" she asked, irritated.

"I want answers," he replied coldly. "You played me for a fool, Emerald!"

She flipped her hair over her shoulder, feigning innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He glared at her icily. "Well then let me refresh your memory! You tricked me into becoming a mere pawn in your and Beryl's sick game, and you used Serena as the bait." When she simply stood there, speechless, he continued. "You used me as a distraction for Serena while Beryl set up her little 'scene' in Darien's apartment!"

"So now it's MY fault that poor Serena can't keep her man interested and he had to get his rocks off with someone else?"

"Darien wouldn't touch Beryl even if he was drunk and high on ecstasy and you know it!"

"How can you be so sure of that? Did you ask him?"

"As a matter of a fact, I did."

"And you believe him? It's not like men don't know how to lie through their teeth; you of all people should know that!" she shouted at him.

"I'd sooner believe Darien than I would believe you; every word that comes from your lips is a lie," he growled.

"Fine!" she snapped at him. "You know what, I admit it! The whole thing was a setup, but I thought this was what you wanted! Serena and Darien are broken up and she's never going to take him back. This is your chance to move in and take her for yourself!"

"I never said I wanted her to be unhappy, and right now she's devastated."

Emerald rolled her eyes. "Gods, you are SUCH a pussy! Well if you're not going to 'comfort' her, you can bet your ass that some other guy will."

Devon glared at her coldly. "You'd love that, wouldn't you? To see Serena being taken advantage of and suffering, that's why you really wanted to 'help' me, wasn't it?"

"Well, I won't deny that I hate that little bitch and wish her misery, but no, it was Beryl's idea. She just wanted to tear Darien away from his girlfriend and it was an added bonus that he was dating Serena!"

"If anything, you're the bitch, Emerald," Devon said. Emerald glared at him.

"Well I'd love to stay and chat, _lover_, but unfortunately for you I don't fuck pussies! Ciao!"

After she left Devon smiled to himself and clicked off the mini tape recorder he had been hiding underneath his shirt. As he expected, Emerald had played right into his hands and spilled everything. Now all he had to do was get back to Mina and Serena and play the tape. A part of him didn't want to do it, knowing that he would be losing Serena, but he loved her too much not to do this for her. She deserved to be happy, and if Darien was the one who could make her the happiest, then Devon was willing to let her go.

* * *

Darien was an absolute wreck. He hadn't slept at all since he left Serena in the care of her cousin and he probably wouldn't sleep again tonight. He was amazed at how quickly his life could go from being damn near perfect to pure hell. Just a few days ago he had been making passionate love to a gorgeous young blonde who he considered to be his future wife and mother to his children and now everything was falling apart. Serena wouldn't even talk to him, save for yelling at him, and there was nothing he could do but wait for her to come back to him so he could explain. If anything, _he _was the one who needed to drink his weight in alcohol and suffer a hangover, not her. He had just called her house a few hours ago to see how she was doing, but it was killing him to stay away from her. He loved her more than life itself and he would spend the rest of his life proving that to her if she would only _let_ him.

A timid knock at his door jolted him out of his melancholy thoughts and his heart skipped a beat. He jumped up from the sofa with a sudden burst of energy, hoping that his angel was the one behind that door. He practically flung the door open, forgetting about his present state of undress, and before he even saw who it was, he said her name in greeting.

"Hello, Darien, it's been a while," Callie said in a soft purr. Before he even knew what was happening, she had her arms wrapped around his neck and her lips were feverishly kissing his own. Perhaps a part of her knew that he wasn't the one he wanted, but another part of her just didn't care. Nothing else mattered as long as she could take comfort in the arms of the one man who hadn't ignored her once they had slept together. Neither one of them noticed the elevator doors opening, nor the young blonde woman who watched them with tears in her crystal blue eyes.

Go talk to him? Had that hangover messed with her ability to think rationally about things? Serena stared in utter disbelief at what she saw upon arriving at Darien's floor. Here she was about to hear him out, and he was kissing _another_ woman not even forty-eight hours after she called it quits. It was as if her entire romantic history had flashed before her eyes in that one moment; all the men who had claimed to care for her had ultimately betrayed her in the end. Why had she believed that Darien would be any different? But then again, he wasn't cheating right now; they weren't together. She had given up her claim to him…she looked at her watch…exactly twenty four hours ago. He was free to sleep with any whore he wanted to now and she could do the same. She blinked back the tears that threatened to pour down her cheeks. If that was true, then why did it hurt so much? Why did her heart feel like it was shattering into a million pieces in a painfully slow motion? She pressed the button to close the doors and made her way back down to the lobby. Had she stayed to confront him, she would have seen him push the girl in his arms away and tell her that he couldn't be with her because he loved Serena. But she didn't see or hear any of it, and soon she was driving away rather quickly and sobbing the entire drive back home.

* * *

_Temptress Kitten: Okay, I am sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter out, but I've been super busy lately and I sort of lost my train of thought for a while. The chapter just wasn't going the way I wanted it to and I must have re-written these scenes several times since I finished Summer Heat. But finally, this chapter is finished and with any luck I'll be able to write the next one fairly quickly. By the way, Sailor Moon fans, I have created another website that will have every episode, movie and manga transcript of the original Japanese episodes once I am actually finished it. Right now, there are only a few episodes per season, but I update the site fairly quickly! If you want to check it out, it's called The Light of the Eternal Moon and the link is at the bottom of my temptress-kitten site. Just go to my profile page and click on my site url to get to the story site and then link from there, kay?_

_Only a few more chapters to go…_

_Till next time!_

**_Temptress Kitten_**


	21. Chapter 18

**Toxic Love**

**TemptressKitten17**

**Rated: M**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon**

_**Author's Note: If you are under the age of eighteen then you are reading this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for what happens if your parents catch you reading this or if the content in my story corrupts your innocent minds. You have been warned.**_

**Chapter 18: **

Serena cursed loudly as she slammed on the breaks. The vehicle lurched forward and the tires screeched horribly as she smashed the front of her car into the one directly in front of her. Her eyes were still blurry with tears, making it difficult to actually see who she had smashed into. All she knew was that the car was a very expensive black jaguar and she doubted that the owner of the vehicle would be very forgiving. She never should have been driving in her condition and yet, here she was, behind the wheel anyway. She may as well be intoxicated because in her emotional state, she hadn't exactly been able to focus on the road. Well, she could add this to the list of incredibly stupid things she had done today, right up there with deciding to hear Darien out after all. She couldn't deal with this right now! Serena buried her face in her hands, hoping that the guy in front of her would let her off easily if she appeared to be overly distraught about the accident and not about the thing that had distracted her in the first place. The last thing she needed was for her parents to find out the accident was her fault and they had to shell out the money for a lawyer or pay the guy off to keep her name out of the gossip columns of the society news letters back home.

"FUCK!" Devon growled when he felt someone smash into his car. He didn't even bother to look in the rearview mirror before he stepped out of the vehicle. He was already in a bad mood, like he always was after fighting with his bitchy ex, and now this? He didn't have time to deal with idiot drivers today; he was already late and Mina was going to chew him out. No doubt, Serena was in her room suffering from the hangover from hell and a bit of good news would do her wonders of good. "Fucking idiot! You couldn't have picked a worse time to smash into my car!" he stomped over to the silver convertible and immediately his expression softened when he realized just who was in the other car. She was sobbing uncontrollably again and his first instinct was to wrap his arms around her and tell her everything would be all right. But at the same time, he wanted to ask her just what the hell she was thinking going out driving in her state. Aside from the incapacitating hangover that she undoubtedly suffered from, she was an emotional train-wreck right now. What on Earth had possessed her to get behind the wheel in the first place? More importantly, what had caused her to break down all of a sudden? He glanced in the direction she had come from and knew that there was only one place she would have gone. What had Darien done this time to upset her?

He approached the driver's side and softly said her name in comfort. She looked up and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to smile, but it was transparent and didn't reach her eyes. "Hi, Devon," she said.

Forget simply comforting her, he had to ask. "Just what were you thinking, Serena? I told you yesterday that you were in no condition to drive, and today you look even worse off than before!"

"I'm sorry. I'll pay for the damages," she said, as if that was the real problem.

"This has nothing to do with a banged up car. I'm talking about you! You could have seriously gotten hurt! Do you have any idea how much power this car has? What if the accident was a lot more serious and you had to be rushed to the hospital? Had you gone any faster, you probably would be in the ambulance right now!"

"Just say it already! I was stupid and reckless and irresponsible and I should have my license revoked!" she threw up her hands dramatically.

"I think you're being a little melodramatic, but I will admit that you were just a little bit reckless. Where was your idiot cousin when you decided to go for your little joy ride? She was supposed to be making sure you didn't go out and do something crazy again like you did last night!"

"She went out with her boyfriend. And FYI, it was her idea that I go out in the first place. She told me I needed to hear Darien out."

"You couldn't have done that over the phone?"

She shook her head. "No, I can't tell if he's lying through his teeth. I needed to see him and by watching his body language, I would figure out whether or not he was telling the truth."

"He didn't cheat on you."

"Oh, yes, he did."

"Mina and I talked to him yesterday and we know that he didn't do it. I got the proof today that he's innocent."

Serena looked at him skeptically. "Oh, really? Well I'd love to see this so-called proof you have, but unfortunately I have bigger problems to worry about right now. In case you haven't noticed, our cars are banged up pretty good!"

"Yeah, it does look pretty bad, but the important thing is that nobody got hurt. As for the cars, we can take mine back to your place and have yours towed to get fixed right now while we deal with the real issue here."

"Darien isn't an issue; he's a liability on my last shred of sanity."

"Well, we're still going to talk about this. Just put all your stuff in my car while I make a few calls and get this taken care of for you."

"But, what about your car? If I remember correctly, you've had it since your eighteenth birthday and I know how much you loved it. You used to flip out if you even got a small scratch on it and this," she gestured with her hands toward the smashed in bumper, "is more than a mere scratch."

Devon sighed. "It's just a car, Serena. Besides, I can get it fixed later."

Serena smiled. "Devon, thank you, for everything. I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with right now and now I've destroyed your car, and yet you're still comforting me."

He couldn't tell her the real reason he cared so much; he didn't want to confuse her or make her feel uncomfortable. He wouldn't do that to her. "Hey, that's what friends do for each other! Now go put your stuff in my car before I have yours taken to get fixed." He started to dial the number as Serena reached into the glove compartment and pulled out everything but the car instruction manual. She made certain that she checked under the seats and in the trunk for anything she might miss, like her MP3s that she had burned onto data CDs. After a few minutes, he hung up the phone. "They're on their way," he said. Serena simply nodded as she stared off in the direction of Darien's apartment. Even now, after witnessing him kissing another woman, she still wanted to be with him. She really was a masochist.

* * *

"I thought you said they were on their way!" Serena grumbled as she climbed the three flights of stairs to her apartment. The elevator wasn't working, again, and so far nothing was being done to fix the problem.

"Well, they did say they would be over shortly when I talked to them," Devon said defensively.

"An hour is hardly what I call short and if you didn't know this, I hate having to wait around for road assistance when it's over thirty degrees outside! This is all _someone's _fault! And by 'someone', I mean Darien!"

They finally made it up to her floor and she sighed dramatically in relief. "Finally! I thought I was going to die going up all those stairs!" she fished her keys out of her pink handbag and shoved the key into the lock. As soon as she and Devon stepped inside, Mina shot up from her spot on the sofa.

"Where have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you all day! Did you talk to Darien? Did Devon show you the proof yet? What took you so long to get here?"

Serena put up her hands. "Whoa, slow down! One question at a time, please!"

Devon shook his head. "We don't have time for twenty questions!" He tossed Mina the tape recorder he had been carrying around all day. "Here's the evidence! Serena, maybe you should sit down before you hear what's on this tape."

Serena, still incredibly pissed off, shook her head stubbornly. "I doubt I'll be _that_ affected by this, but I'll sit down anyway just because I'm exhausted from climbing all those flights of stairs and I'll probably pass out if I don't get off my feet." She flopped down on the sofa and sank into the cushions. Once everyone was seated, Mina hit the play button and all was revealed.

Serena was silently staring out the window as the tape ended. Mina was the first to break the silence. "Serena, are you okay?"

She simply shrugged, still staring at nothing. "It doesn't matter."

"What?" Devon and Mina asked, confused.

"I said, it doesn't matter," Serena repeated stoically.

Mina turned to Devon. "I think she's just in shock and it hasn't really sunk in yet," she said. Serena shook her head and turned to look at both of them. She didn't look at all like she was about to race back into Darien's arms and they couldn't understand her reaction. Shouldn't she be happy that her boyfriend was innocent? Shouldn't she be on her way to see him right now?

"Oh, it sunk in, but it proves nothing!" Serena turned to the window again.

Mina placed a hand on her cousin's arm. "What are you talking about? That confession proves that Beryl and Emerald set you and Darien up! He never slept with her, which means that you two can get back together!"

Serena stood up. "NO! We can never be together now, or ever again! Not after what he did to me!"

"What? He didn't do anything but care about you, even when you broke it off!" Mina said, trying to calm her nearly hysterical cousin.

"Oh, he did something, and I doubt you'll find proof to the contrary because as far as I know, you can't sleep standing up by an open door!"

"When I found you in hysterics today, I thought you were just upset over what happened yesterday," Devon said, clenching his fist tightly. "It wasn't about that, was it?" If Darien really had hurt her for real this time, then there was no way Devon would let him have her without a fight. He had only stepped aside because he thought that Darien was true to her and would make her happy, but if that wasn't the case then he had some competition now.

"Serena?" Mina asked, worried.

"No, it wasn't. I saw Darien today, and he wasn't alone."

Mina shook her head. "No, he wouldn't have done that to you. Isn't it possible that she was his sister or a friend coming to check up on him? You did tell me once that he had a lot of women in his family."

"I doubt he'd French his sister…at least, I hope he doesn't cuz that would be gross and wrong!"

Mina and Devon exchanged glances at each other. Had they been wrong about Darien after all? Was Serena better off without him in her life? And more importantly, would she ever get over such a betrayal, or would she refuse to love again for fear of getting her heart crushed?

* * *

3 weeks later…

Darien could not believe that he was actually going to ask for _her _advice. He hadn't spoken with his older sister in over six months and he was afraid of what she would say if he told her that he had been in a serious relationship without even telling her. They had once been so close and growing up they were nearly inseparable. But the age gap between them seemed to grow as they got older and she left college to pursue her own dreams. But that wasn't the real issue. The truth was that Trista had never approved of his lifestyle choices after Saori left him and he had grown so tired of her lectures that he simply stopped talking to her. That part of his life seemed to be so far in the past now, and he couldn't remember if he was even happy before Serena came into his life. He had to get her back!

He had hoped that Mina and Devon had been able to get through to her, but when even they stopped taking his calls and his best friend gave him the cold shoulder, he realized that something was very wrong. Kevin wouldn't talk to him out of loyalty to his girlfriend and Andrew kept making up excuses as to why he couldn't talk to him. It hadn't taken Darien long to figure out that Serena had seen him in what looked like a compromising situation with Callie. So now here he was, about to throw himself at his sister's mercy. He had found out through a friend that Serena was a regular customer at his sister's shop and they knew each other well. He also discovered that had he only gone with his sister and father to all those fancy parties held by Society when he was younger, he would have met his princess a lot sooner. He might have even saved her from ever getting her heart broken had he met her when she was sixteen, like Trista had. Perhaps if he had done that, he wouldn't be in this mess right now. He paused before the fancy glass doors to his sister's store, feeling slightly embarrassed about entering the place. He had never been inside, but he could tell from the display of lacy undergarments in the window that it was his own personal hell awaiting him through those doors. Normally, a man would not set foot in a place like this unless he was dragged there by his girlfriend or wife. This was not a normal situation, however, and so he stepped inside.

Unlit scented candles and body oils in small glass bottles lightly perfumed the inside of the lushly carpeted boutique. There were racks upon racks of lacy camisoles and chemises in every color imaginable and there were tables covered with matching panties and bras. He recognized the blonde at one of the tables arranging the displays.

"Hey, Michelle is my sister here?" he asked.

She looked up from her task, but she didn't smile when she saw him. Odd, Darien thought. Michelle used to adore him like a little brother.

"Oh, hello, Darien," she said coldly as she resumed her task of arranging Trista's latest creations on the little table. Darien walked up to her, pouting cutely like he used to when he was a little boy. "What? No hug?" he asked playfully. Michelle simply ignored him. Darien soon found out why she was being so cold when he heard a familiar voice say, "I don't think she's falling for your playboy act, Casanova!" He turned to see Mina glaring at him disdainfully. "What the hell are you doing here, Darien? Come to pour salt into my cousin's wounds by flirting with her friends, knowing it will get back to her?"

"What are you talking about? I just came here to see my sister!"

"Well look what the cat dragged in!" Amara growled as she came out of the back room holding another box of garments. Trista came out behind her carrying a few garments on hangers with her. "Must be a pretty strong cat to drag a _dog_ in here," she glared icily at her younger brother. "What do _you_ want?"

"What do you mean what do I want? We're family; I came to visit you!"

Trista narrowed her eyes. "Serena isn't here, Darien, and she doesn't want to see you! In fact, nobody here wants anything to do with you, including me! Now leave!"

"Please, I just need to talk to her! This is all just a big misunderstanding!"

Michelle glared. "The only misunderstanding is that you think you're welcome here when you're _not_!"

"I second that," Amara growled. "Now get out before I throw you out!"

"If you would just hear me out…" Darien pleaded. The four women tapped their feet impatiently. "Fine," they growled in unison, "You have one minute to explain yourself," Trista added, "But _only _because you're my brother!"

Darien took a little bit longer than a minute to explain everything and when he was done, the room was silent and all four women simply stared at him in shock. "You're an idiot." Mina said, breaking the silence. Everyone just stared at her, not knowing what to say.

* * *

**Temptress Kitten:** _Okay, I know I said this would be the last chapter, but it was just getting way too long for my liking and I would prefer to just jump ahead to the next part and skip the tedious middle parts that really aren't needed anyway. I already wrote the summary for the final chapter so you won't have to worry about me being at a loss on how to end this. I've simply decided to break a very long chapter into two parts and cut some of the filler out because otherwise this would go on for thirty pages (and I'm not joking)! So here is the first part and I am working on the last part as you read this! I promise you all that it will be up shortly and then I will add the epilogue before the end of this month and then I can finally start fixing up all the very old chapters before Chapter 13 so that the rest of the story makes more sense in some parts! Can't wait to get those reviews! _

_Till next time…which will be very soon, I promise…_

_**Temptress Kitten**_


	22. Chapter 19 Lemon at the end!

**Toxic Love**

**TemptressKitten17**

**Rated: M**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon**

_**Author's Note: If you are under the age of eighteen then you are reading this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for what happens if your parents catch you reading this or if the content in my story corrupts your innocent minds. You have been warned.**_

**Chapter 19: **

"What did you just call me?" Darien asked, thinking that he had heard wrong. Mina shrugged her shoulders. "I called you an idiot," she repeated, earning smirks from the other women in the room. "You don't believe me, do you?" Mina chuckled. "I never said I didn't believe you, Darien. I merely called you an idiot. You should have told Serena the truth long before this and yet instead you come here weeks later to try to explain yourself to your sister. Don't you know how incredibly fruitless that would have been had I not been here?"

"What are you talking about? Trista would have helped me get in touch with Serena." He turned to look at her. "Wouldn't you?" he asked. Trista shook her head. "Oh my stupid little brother," she said, using her old nickname for him, "I couldn't possibly do anything to convince Serena of the truth once she realized that I'm your sister. Have you learned absolutely nothing over the past few months? Serena doesn't trust _anyone_ and she would think that I'm siding with you over her because we're family. Really, the only one who can get through to her is you."

"But I tried and she just keeps avoiding me. I left messages for her but she never returns them. Save for stalking her, I have tried everything to get her to talk to me!"

Mina rolled her eyes. "Had you only told _me_ what really happened right afterward with Callie instead of waiting to see if it would come back to bite you in the ass later on, you wouldn't even be in this mess. You should have known what would happen if the truth got distorted again. We managed to convince her that same day that you were innocent, but after she told us that she saw you with Callie and you didn't even call me to explain, I figured that it was the truth."

"I called you a week later."

"Yeah, when you figured out that we knew about it, and by that time I had already spent days consoling my devastated cousin, thinking you betrayed her," Mina pointed out. "By that time, I had listened to her cry herself to sleep for seven nights in a row and you didn't call once to even apologize to her for your behavior."

"I was giving her space, like you told me to."

This time, all four women rolled their eyes. Men, how incredibly stupid they could be. No wonder Amara and Michelle had switched to women and Trista had become celibate. You tell them nothing's wrong and they believe that nothing is wrong. And god help you if you tell them you need them to give you space! Either they disappear off the face of the earth and turn up weeks later, after you've already given up on them, or they think you want to break up. It never occurred to them that you might just want a day or two to get over whatever they've done and then have them make it up to you with a romantic night out. "Like I said before, and will probably say again, you're an idiot! When I told you to give her space, I meant that you should give her a day or two and stop calling every few hours to check up on her. I did _not_ tell you to go a whole week without so much as a phone call to let her know you still want to be with her. Gods, are all men this stupid?"

"Pretty much," Amara answered for him, causing him to glare at her. "You don't get to answer that, Amara. You don't even _like_ men," Darien pouted. Why were they all ganging up on him like this? He wished Andrew was here right now so that he would be able to talk to at least one person who didn't expect him to be a mind-reader. One woman could make a man feel like a fool enough; a pack of them could make him feel very, very small and stupid. They all acted like he should know what they meant when they didn't come right out and say it! At least Serena had been a little less irrational in that sense than all the other women he knew. Michelle looked upon him with pity. "It's not his fault; men aren't exactly the best at reading emotions or figuring out what women want all of the time. You have to at least admit that we are complex and our behavior can confuse them."

The others chuckled at her comment. Oh great, now they were making fun of his entire gender, and they weren't focusing on the problem at hand. He cleared his throat loudly. "Okay, fine! I'm an idiot and I can't read minds, I know. Can we PLEASE get to the part where you help me get Serena back now?" They turned their heads to look at him and then back to each other. Finally after a long silence in which they basically just gave each other looks, Trista spoke. "Yes, we'll help you," she said as the others nodded in agreement.

Serena grumbled all the way to Trista's boutique. "What is this, an intervention?" she joked as she stepped into the store and noticed the small group of women whom she considered to be some of her closest friends. Mina chuckled; she appeared to be nervous for some reason. "Something like that," she said. Trista fixed her concerned dark eyes on Serena's. She never would have thought that the younger woman would look so awful and believed Mina had been exaggerating. Serena had dark circles under her eyes and her skin was so pale despite the fact that it was late summer and nearly impossible to avoid a tan if one was outside. Had she really spent the last few weeks in bed crying, as Mina had informed her?

"Serena, we're all worried about you. Hiding in your bed all day isn't going to fix anything and we called you over here because you needed to leave the house. Don't you see how pale you've become?"

Serena sighed and fell into a plush armchair. "What does it matter? It's not like I have anyone to look good for. Now, if that's all you wanted to say, I should get back to my plans for the day."

"Serena, what plans?" Mina asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going home to bed. I penciled it in already; I'm going to sleep all day until the numbness wears off, and then I'm going to drink all those strawberry fruit coolers in the fridge until I'm so drunk that I pass out again!"

Amara and Michelle stared at her, understandably shocked. Since when did Serena drink for the sake of getting drunk?

Mina shook her head. "No, you won't because I cut you off yesterday."

Serena glared at her. "How dare you! After all I've been through, I think I'm entitled to have a few drinks! No matter, I'll just go buy more!"

Mina pinched the bridge of her nose as if she felt a headache coming on between her eyes. "Um, Serena," Trista started, "there's another reason we called you down here."

"What, you mean this wasn't just a ploy to distract me from my prior engagement?" she snapped irritably. The numbness was starting to subside and she was starting to feel sick again. Damn it, she needed another drink.

Trista ignored her snappish comment and pointed toward the back room. "Actually, _that_ was Mina's idea. I called you here because your stuff is ready for you and I wanted you to try everything on to make sure it fits right before I make the final alterations."

Serena laughed bitterly. "Oh, I almost forgot about _that_ order. Yeah, no problem." She got up slowly and made her way to the back room. Hopefully she'd get lucky and find some sort of alcoholic beverage in the break room refridgerator. It was highly unlikely, but then again Serena wasn't exactly thinking straight at the moment. Curiously, the door was only open slightly and the lights were off. Still slightly inebriated, she was unaware that the others were following closely behind her as she opened the door and stepped into the room. She soon figured it out when the door shut loudly behind her and the key turned in the lock. Great; Trista had just locked her in the room. Suddenly, the lights flicked on, momentarily blinding her. When her vision returned to normal (or about as normal as it got in her state) she immediately felt the waves of nausea coming on stronger than ever; and it had nothing to do with the alcohol in her system.

Darien stood by the light switch on the wall wearing that infuriating smirk on his face. Damn the man; he just had to look better than ever! "Great! As if you haven't done enough already to make me wish we'd never met!" She felt herself sway a bit, and not wanting to give him the satisfaction of rescuing her from another alcohol-induced fall, she sat down in the nearby chair. Darien was dangling something pink and lacy from his pinched fingers and it took a moment for her to realize it was one of her custom orders. "I guess it was too presumptuous of me to think you'd try these on then." There was that smirk of his again. Oh, she wanted to wipe that expression off his face, but right now she was afraid to stand up.

"I'm sure your whore has plenty of lingerie to model for you. Why don't you just go back to her and leave me the hell alone!" She closed her eyes and put a hand to her throbbing temple as the headache came on full force. Darien, noticing that she was in pain and battling a hangover, went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. He was about to give her an aspirin, but hesitated. "When did you have your last drink?" he asked her as he handed her the water. Serena shrugged. "I dunno, a few hours ago I guess. Why?"

"Well, I needed to know so that I don't accidentally make things worse by giving you aspirin while you still have alcohol in your system," he said.

Serena scoffed. "Like you even care!"

Darien placed a hand on her shoulder. Serena flinched and he removed it, running his hand through his hair nervously instead. "Of course I care. Damn it, Serena, have I not proven to you time and again how much?" When she didn't answer, he placed his fingers under her chin and forced her to look at him as he kneeled down to her level. "I love you! I would take this pain you feel right now away from you if I could! I would do anything for you, don't you see that?"

"If you loved me so damn much, then why the hell would you cheat on me?" She hadn't meant to show the depth of her emotions, but she couldn't exactly stop the tears from falling. Damn him and his soulful blue eyes that saw past her defenses! And damn Trista and the others for locking her in the room with him. She should just get up right now and start pounding on the door until they let her out, but she wouldn't give _him_ the satisfaction of knowing how much he still got to her.

"That wasn't what it looked like; I thought Mina told you that."

Serena shook her head and immediately wished she hadn't done that. "Oh..." she moaned, clutching her head in her hands. She nearly fell out of the chair as she leaned too far forward. Darien caught her and held her steady. She tried to slap him away, but he refused to let go of her. "Serena," he said. "You have to believe me; I never cheated on you. Not with Beryl and not with Callie!"

She folded her arms across her chest. "Humph," she said. "It'd be a lot easier to lie to me if I hadn't _seen_ you kissing the last chick! Or are you going to try to convince me that you were sleeping _then_ too?" She turned her face away from Darien, unable to look at him without wanting to cry. She would NOT show her weakness in front of him! Darien refused to let her shut him out completely, however. He cupped her chin in his hand and forced her to look up at him. "Damn it, Serena! Look at me!" he said, exasperated as she shut her eyes in defiance.

"Why should I? I already know you're lying to me; again!" she bit out. She wouldn't cry; not now, not ever! He wasn't worth it, she reminded herself. Hadn't she told herself a long time ago that she wouldn't let anyone hurt her again? Why the hell had she gone against her own word and let him into her heart in the first place, knowing beforehand that he was a notorious playboy? Darien was still pleading with her to look at him, to believe that he'd never hurt her. Yeah, right, and she was going to have her lobotomy when? Still, the words he spoke next shook her to her core.

"Serena? Didn't you hear what I said?" Darien asked, gently placing a hand on her arm. Serena pulled back as if he had burned her. "You don't get to touch me anymore. You lost that luxury when you kissed that other woman!" Darien sighed. "You weren't listening to a word I was saying, were you?" he asked wearily. Serena shook her head again, moaning at the pain it caused her. "Stop doing that; you're only hurting yourself," Darien said. Serena opened her eyes, staring at him. Was that genuine concern in his voice? Still, she couldn't resist the urge to wound him as deeply as he had her. "If you're so worried about my health, then leave. Your presence alone is making me feel ill!"

"You're just saying that to hurt me because you're hurting right now. You don't mean it."

"You know, don't presume you know me just because we spent six months together!"

"I know you a lot better than you think I do, Sweetheart, and right now you're trying to shut me out by putting up those damned walls of yours again. It won't work though; I broke them down once and I can do it again!"

Serena suddenly shot up from her chair, furious. "I'm not listening to you anymore!" she stormed to the door, pounding on it with her fists. "Trista, you let me out of here right now! I mean it! Open this door or I'll kill you after I'm finished with your precious brother!"

"Oh yeah, Baby, because she's really going to let you out of here after you threatened her and her family!" Darien came up behind her and she swore she could actually _feel_ his smirk. She spun around without thinking about their close proximity to one another and immediately lost her balance. He caught her in his arms and before she could even shout an expletive, he pulled her flush against him and crashed his lips onto hers in a heated kiss. She beat her fists against his chest angrily as his lips continued to ravish hers.

Darien hadn't planned for the kiss to be so heated; he had merely wanted to remind her of what they had together and to silence her death threats against him and his sister. One taste of Serena's sweetly intoxicating lips, however, and he couldn't stop himself. He pulled her tighter to him, nearly crushing her lithe body against his chest, reveling in the feel of her soft curves and the scent of her. Gods, how he had missed her! These past few weeks had been hell on him and judging by her own reactions, they had been just as hellish for her. He licked her lips, tasting the strawberry lip balm that lingered on them. That was all it took for Serena to melt against him. Her fists stopped attacking him and instead she started to grip his shirt and pull him close to her. Her other hand slid up his chest and into his hair. A small tear trickled down her cheeks as she released all the emotion she had felt for him into her kiss, communicating without words how much she had missed him. The nagging voice inside her head tried to remind her of the hurt she would endure if she let him back into her heart again. She ignored the warnings for once. Yes, there was the chance that she would end up hurt, but it was a hell of a lot better than not feeling anything at all.

He pulled away from her lips and started to rain kisses over her face and down her jaw line. "Oh, gods, Serena, I missed you so much." He breathlessly kissed the hollow of her neck even as he continued to declare his love for her. "I swear to you, there's no other woman for me! You're the one I want to be with!" Serena closed her eyes, trying to stop the flood of tears from escaping her long lashes. "I love you. I love you. I love you," he chanted as his hands slid up her back and buried into her hair.

Serena wrapped her legs around his waist as he pushed her into the door and lifted her up so that he wasn't straining his neck leaning down to reach her lips and neck. "I love you," Serena whimpered before his lips fell on hers again. "I want you." She gasped out between heated kisses. "I need you!" she cried, feeling the tears wetting her cheeks. Darien kissed her softly, barely brushing his lips against hers as his fingers gently caressed the back of her neck. She shivered when his fingers brushed over a sensitive spot near her shoulder and unconsciously she ground her hips against his, feeling his arousal pressing into her intimately. "I need you," she said again. The hand grasping his shirt moved lower and slid down to the button on his jeans. Thank gods for skirts and zippers, she thought as she freed him from his jeans and boxers. She stroked him in her hand, reveling in the fact that the sounds of pleasure coming from his lips was all thanks to her.

Darien's hand slid down her chest and stomach to rest on her thigh. He slipped it beneath the skirt of her pink sun dress and groaned when his fingers touched the dampness between her thighs. Unwilling to separate for even a moment, Serena slid her own hand beneath her skirt and pulled her panties to the side and slid down on his length. She trembled in his arms as she felt him fill her up so exquisitely, as no other man had. As they moved in tandem, Darien made love to her mouth with his own. Serena shuddered in pleasure as she felt her release. Darien didn't let up on his motions within her and soon she came again, muffling her cries into their kiss.

**Temptress Kitten:** And that's all she wrote! Well, until I get around to writing the epilogue anyway. Sorry it took a while to finish this chapter, but things came up. I think you can tell what happened by the way I wrote the first few scenes before the lemon. Thank gods I can still write decent lemons even while single and pissed at the opposite sex! Otherwise, this chapter never would have been written at all! So yeah, I'm mad at my ex and at men in general and the only comfort is knowing that in two weeks I'll be able to go 'fishing' for someone else. There's plenty of guys on campus. I don't need that potential two-timer to string me along until he figures out who he loves more, me, or his girl friend. I have my pride, after all and I'm still young enough that I can have my pick of guys! This time, though, I'm going to keep my heart out of things until I know for sure that I'm the only one for him, whoever _he_ is…


	23. Epilogue

**Toxic Love**

**TemptressKitten17**

**Rated: M**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon**

_**Author's Note: If you are under the age of eighteen then you are reading this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for what happens if your parents catch you reading this or if the content in my story corrupts your innocent minds. You have been warned.**_

**Epilogue**

"I don't believe this!" Trista groaned, looking impatiently at her watch. She turned to Mina. "Shouldn't they have come out by now?" she asked, tapping her foot. "Think they killed each other?" Amara joked, earning a smack on the arm from Michelle. "That's not funny!" She patted Trista on the arm reassuringly. "I'm sure that they're just talking." Suddenly a loud cry came from the locked room and Trista looked toward the door in alarm. "Oh my god, she _is_ killing him in there!" Another moan was heard and Mina smirked as Trista continued to freak out that Serena was hurting her little brother. "Oh my god! WHAT is she doing to him in there that would cause him to cry out like that?" she asked after hearing a particularly loud shout.

Amara and Michelle couldn't seem to conceal their amusement at the situation. Trista obviously had no idea what was really going on as she glared at them. "You two think this is funny? My little brother is locked in there with Serena and who knows what sort of horrible torture she's inflicting on him!"

"Believe me, Tris, you really don't wanna go in there right now!" Mina said, trying to regain her composure. But the look on Trista's face was priceless when a second voice joined in on the moaning. "Oh, good. It looks like Darien got the upper hand!" she stated, sighing in relief. Amara, Michelle and Mina couldn't help it; they burst into fits of laughter and giggles. "Oh, I'm sure that Serena doesn't mind at all!" Mina managed to choke out through her giggles. Trista was not amused. "WHAT is so damn funny…" she paused as she heard both her brother and the young woman she had thought of as a little sister both moaning each other's names. Her eyes widened in shock, suddenly realizing what was happening in her break room.

"EW! They're not…They wouldn't…" she stammered, unable to get the words out.

Mina raised an eyebrow. "What, you never heard of the concept of make-up sex?" she asked as if it was an innocent question.

"Why didn't you warn me that this could happen?" she asked, trying to shake the nasty images of her brother, naked in the break room with Serena. She shuddered.

"We assumed you knew." Amara said, crossing her arms across her chest and leaning against the wall casually.

"NO! NO! I didn't think that they'd do that! I never would have locked them in there if I knew that they'd defile my break room like that!" Trista said, extremely flustered. Good GOD, she'd have to scrub every inch of that room with disinfectant three times before it felt clean again.

"More like they're christening it!" Mina chuckled. Trista glared at her.

"Ugh, how much longer are they going to be doing…THAT in there?" Trista asked, looking at her watch. "I need to close up soon."

Mina shrugged. "With them, it could be hours." Trista looked at her, eyes wide in shock.

"HOURS? It's already been HOURS! How much longer can they keep this up?"

"I think we know why you've remained celibate, Trista. If you've never had a lover as good as…well, as good as some," Mina said, realizing how wrong it would sound if she said Darien's name, " then obviously you don't know what you're missing!"

"I don't want to know this about my brother!" Trista groaned, covering her ears and trying to drown out the sounds of Darien and Serena's constant moaning.

"Again!" Serena said breathlessly as she pulled Darien to her, kissing him with all the passion in her.

Darien looked around the room and smirked. "Honey, I think we've pretty much made love on every surface, against every wall…"

"You're not tired out, are you?" she teased him.

Darien puffed out his chest. "Tired? Not a chance, sweet heart! I could go all. Night. Long. And you know it!"

Serena's eyes glittered with excitement at his suggestion. "Oh, is that a promise?" She purred.

"It is. But what do you say we go somewhere a little more private…like my bedroom."

"Or mine."

Darien smiled, tracing his finger over her swollen lips. She kissed him on the tip, then playfully nibbled at his fingers, causing him to groan. "Or, ours," he said. Serena pulled back. "Ours?" she asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've been thinking about it, and I decided that I couldn't imagine being with anyone else, so I'm asking you to move in with me…permanently. In fact, I see a big diamond ring in the future…"

"Whoah!" Serena said, placing her hands on his chest to put some distance between them. "My head was already spinning before, but now…this…I...I don't know what to say."

"Say 'yes'."

Serena looked at him, hesitation evident in her eyes. "Darien, I don't know. I mean, we _just_ got back together."

Darien took her hands in his and kissed them. "Serena, I'm not saying you have to decide right now. Just think about it, okay?"

Serena smiled softly. "You're so patient with me."

He looked into her eyes. "I'd wait for you forever, Serena. I love you!"

"I love you too!" she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him to her.

Back outside of the room, Trista was pacing. "I have to close soon! They have to be tired out by now!" As if on cue, there was a soft knock on the door. "Tris, let us out. Serena and I have sorted out our differences!" Darien's muffled voice came from the door.

"I don't doubt that." Mina smirked, eyeing the disheveled couple and winking as Trista let them out of the room. "Thanks!" Darien said to his sister, giving her a meaningful look. "You're welcome," she said, looking down at her shoes and blushing crimson.

"Well, Serena and I really need to leave now. We're starving!"

"Oh, well, so are we! Why don't we all go out to dinner?" Trista said quickly, wanting to get her mind on something besides what had transpired in her break room between her brother and his girlfriend.

Darien and Serena exchanged secret looks and shook their heads. "No, that's all right. We'll just go home." Darien said.

"Yes," Serena agreed, "I'm sure we'll find something at home to appease our appetites."

After they left rather quickly, Trista stared at her friends incredulously. "This is unbelievable! Aren't they even a _little_ tired? They couldn't even stop long enough to eat?"

"Oh, Darien will definitely be eating out later." Mina remarked. Amara and Michelle just shook their heads and chuckled.

"STOP SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT!" Trista shrieked. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to do some major cleaning in the back room." Mina glanced over at Trista's retreating form and then pulled out her cell phone, her eyes glittering.

"Who are you calling?" Amara asked suspiciously.

"Andy! I think I've found someone else in desperate need of a matchmaker!"

The End

Temptress Kitten: There you go peoples! I finished the story the day before classes officially begin! There's some other stuff I've been working on but it's only available on my website at the moment. It's in the mature stories section, so you know there's going to be lots and lots of lemons. Hey, I'm a romance writer; I can't help it! Anyway, check out my site and the 'sister' site if you're Sailor Moon obsessed. Just scroll to the bottom of the home page and click on the banner that says Light of the Eternal Moon. It will instantly link you to my other site with all the Sailor Moon transcripts. Since I don't have to do anything but type, that site gets updated faster than any other projects I have going. That's all I have to say for now.

Till next time!

Temptress Kitten 17


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